Natalie Armbruester may have had four second place finishes on the LET Access Series (LETAS) in 2026, but she is still chasing an elusive debut victory.
The Swiss golfer, 26, fired a five-under 67 to take a one-shot lead over six players after Thursday’s opening round at the Terre Blanche Ladies Open.
Sweden’s Moa Svedenskiold, France’s Anais Meyssonnier, Czech amateur Anna Ludvova, England’s Billie-Jo Smith, Australia’s Hannah Reeves and Swiss amateur Lana Guyot (all 68) have a share of second place in a tightly-packed leaderboard.
“I hit a lot of greens today, because the course is really soft,” Armbruester said. “You can fire at pins, so that was actually a really fun way to play the course.
“It’s different than how we’ve played it in previous years. I just hit a lot of greens, had a lot of birdie opportunities, and I made some putts early on in the round.
“That gave me the confidence to hole putts and make birdies. It was just very consistent.”
Armbruester swapped a birdie on the opening hole with a bogey on the par-4 2nd, before rattling in birdies on holes 3, 4 and 9 to make the turn at three-under.
She then made eight consecutive pars before finishing with an eagle on the par-5 18th to take the solo lead.
About her finishing eagle, she added: “We had downwind which was great off the tee so I could cut it a little bit more. I hit a great drive down the middle.
“Then I was only left with a nine-iron in, I hit it pretty close and rolled in a good putt. So very, very solid all around.”
Playing in the afternoon session threw up tricky conditions with light rain hitting the course after she made the turn.
“I wasn’t expecting rain mid round,” she said. “It was definitely very windy and it was gusty. So you always had to stay on your toes and be present and make sure that you were really taking everything into consideration.
“And because it rained so much yesterday, the course was wet and it was different than perhaps how we played the practice round on Tuesday.”
Sitting in third place in the LETAS Order of Merit (OOM) standings, Armbruester is the only player among the top seven who is yet to win a LETAS tournament this season.
But with four runners-up finishes, she has a 690.35-point cushion over eighth place in the race for the seven LET cards for the 2027 season.
“I think I try not to think about the points too much,” she said. “But it’s very difficult at this point of the season not to get ahead of yourself and see the finish line
“I’d love to play well, but I also know that I can really only take it one shot at a time, and hopefully things will turn out the way I hope they would.”
“I’m definitely trying to look forward. I think it’s the better way to go. If I try to look back, I’m going to be too defensive, and I rather stay committed and more aggressive in my mindset.
“I’ve been close to winning a couple of times this year, and I haven’t managed to. So that’s still a personal goal of mine to maybe win an event.”
When asked what she needs to get over the line this week, Armbruester said: “I think a couple more putts need to drop. When I played against Lucie, the final round in Saint-Omer, she just really putted much better than I did.
“In Czech Republic, I also made a couple of three putts that final round which cost me the win. So, I think if I could just hole a couple more putts this week, hopefully I will be successful.
“Ideally, I would have a great big lead but I don’t think that’s always easy on a course like this.”
Among the chasing pack, Svedenskiold was the first into the clubhouse with a bogey-free round comprising birdies on holes 1, 4, 16 and 18.
“I felt good, hit a lot of good tee shots,” she said. “A lot of fairway hits, I think. I feel like I hit close to the pin, had a lot of birdie opportunities within five metres.
“Didn’t make as much as I wanted to but got two birdies on par-fives and so, which felt good. I feel like I always gave myself a chance (to make birdie), and when I had to save par, I saved par.
“I know my game is good at the moment, and I know I can go out and shoot low. I just got to stay present and do what I do best.”
Svedenskiold is leading the Rookie of the Year standings and is second in the LETAS OOM behind leader Lauren Holmey.
“I want to win (the OOM),” she said. “That’s the ultimate goal. feel like if I can hit that top seven and get to the LET next year, that would be a great accomplishment for me.
“At the moment my schedule looks like I’m playing the last two events in Spain. If I could get as many points as I can this tournament, that would be great. Just taking it one day at a time and one round at a time.”
Home favourite Meyssonnier walked onto the 18th green at five-under overall but missed a two-footer for par to drop back into a tie for the lead.
Born in the city of Arles, about 200km away from Golf de Terre Blanche, Meyssonnier mixed six birdies with two bogeys to put herself in contention for the first time since June.
“It was just a great round,” she said. “I didn’t miss pretty much any shots. My putting was pretty solid, although I miss a tiny one on 18. But that can happen.
“My long game was very solid. My driving was a little bit off at the beginning, but then it got nice, so it’s just a great day.
“My game is definitely improving. I had two very bad years, losing confidence and everything, and I worked a lot. My confidence is getting back a little bit step by step.
“I’m still not like 100% confident on the tee yet, but it’s getting better. And it feels great. I can see that my long game and even under pressure is getting better.”
Playing on home soil, Meyssonnier has the support of her childhood friend caddying for her this week.
“It’s a friend, a close friend from the family,” she added. “I’ve known him since I was a baby. We used to be in the same golf course when we were younger. So, yeah, he’s helping a lot. And I’m very thankful for him.”
Czech amateur Ludvova, who has committed to playing college golf for the University of Texas, is competing in her first LETAS event of 2026.
The 18-year-old traded six birdies, half of them coming from par-fives, with two bogeys.
In September, Ludvova represented Team Europe at the PING Junior Solheim Cup and put two points on the board for Anne Van Dam’s team in a 13-11 defeat to Team USA.
She won her Monday Foursomes match paired with Switzerland’s Guyot and her Tuesday Singles match.
Guyot is also at four-under and among the six-way tie for second position after a round comprising five birdies and one bogey.
Rounding up the chasing pack are England’s Smith and Australia’s Reeves who both mixed five birdies with one bogey.
In solo eighth place is Australia’s Belinda Ji (69) at three-under after a rollercoaster round of six birdies and three bogeys.
Further back, in a five-way tie for ninth position, come Germany’s Chiara Horder, Scotland’s Lorna Mcclymont, England’s Jessica Hall, French amateur Teodora Nikolovski and Sweden’s Isabell Ekstrom (all 70).
OOM leader Lauren Holmey carded a three-over 75 to be in a tie for 47th place, while Lavaux Ladies Open champion Bel Wardle opened with an even-par 72 in tied-22nd position.
Round 2 of the Terre Blanche Ladies Open will resume at 8.25am (local time) on Friday. There will be a cut to the top 45 professionals and ties.
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