Billie-Jo Smith broke the course record with an opening round bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to lead the Super Bock Ladies Open on the LET Access Series (LETAS).
The Englishwoman, 27, leads Italy’s Matilde Partele (66) by two shots while compatriot Jessica Hall (67) is a further stroke back in solo third place.
In a tie for fourth place are South Korea’s Ayeon Yang, Ireland’s Canice Screene and Norway’s Silje Torvund Ohma (all 68) at four-under-par overall.
Smith said: “Bogey free is always amazing, but I also left lots of birdies out there. It feels good, I’ve done it a few times in the past so it’s just a nice feeling to be back in this position.
“I just played solid all the way around, really didn’t really make mistakes, so that helped. I made four birdies pretty early on, so that settled a few nerves.
“And then yeah, just went from there, tried to keep things together, keep it in play because it’s a very tight golf course and the results came.”
Smith got off to a red-hot start stringing four consecutive birdies from holes 2 to 5, before adding another at the par-3 7th hole to make the turn five-under-par.
She continued with birdies on 11, 13 and 17 on the back nine and could have equalled her career-best score of nine-under-par if not for a missed short birdie putt on the closing par-3 18th hole.
The previous course record of seven-under-par 65 was held by Scotland’s Laura Beveridge, set during last year’s second round.
“I didn’t realise I broke the course record until you told me just now,” Smith said. “I’ve struggled to keep it in the fairway for the last couple of weeks, including the practice round yesterday.
“This morning, I was still on the range trying to find something and it just clicked in the middle of the round.
“I hit it really good off the tee, which is something I’ve struggled with for the last couple of weeks. It was nice to get that feeling back.
“My iron play was really good, it’s something that I’ve not seen since back in 2024 so it was quite nice to have the feeling of just hitting free with irons and hitting it close.”
Smith was among the seven graduates to the LET from the 2024 LETAS season, finishing in third place on the Order of Merit (OOM).
But after a turbulent 2025, she did not retain full status on the LET and has since split her time between both Tours this season.
She is currently ranked 49th in the 2026 OOM with 306.55 points from eight events, trailing seventh-placed Theresa De Bochdanovits by 827.45 points. The winner of a LETAS event earns 500 points.
“I have to be honest, the last two years have been a struggle,” she said. “I got onto the LET after getting a full card from the Access Series in 2024, and since then I’ve not really seen much form from there.
“To finally get a little bit of form is quite nice. Today, especially with my iron play, it’s something that I’m seeing a little bit more of 2024.
I’m not in contention for any of the cards this year, but it’s a real opportunity to be on this Tour, and it’s growing every single year.
“All the team are doing a great job, so yeah, it builds you up well to get onto the LET and then take it from there.”
This is the second time Smith has held the opening round lead, after July’s Women’s Irish Challenge where she eventually finished tied-sixth.
When asked about her future plans, Smith added: “I mean tomorrow is a different day, so I’m just going to focus on the rest of the week. Next season is really up in the air for me at the moment.
“I’m just trying to play some good golf, get back into what I felt in 2024. It’s been a while, so this is a great start and hopefully I can build on that.
“I think today I did everything really well. There’s nothing I could think of that I need to improve on. I think just keeping that up, keeping it in play off the tee is the key around here and continue to hole a few putts.”
Further down the leaderboard, the quintet of England’s Bel Wardle, Germany’s Theresa De Bochdanovits, Switzerland’s Tiffany Arafi, Germany’s Lisa Marie Schumacher and United States’ Antonia Malate (all 69) are tied for seventh at three-under-par.
Spain’s Clara Moyano Reigosa (75) made her sixth career hole-in-one at the 145m par-3 18th hole with her 8-iron.
There are nine players in a tie for 12th at two-under-par 70, including Ekaterina Malakhova, Ireland’s Beth Coulter, Denmark’s Cecilie Leth-Nissen, Scotland’s Lorna Mcclymont, France’s Anais Meyssonier, Canada’s Ashley Chow, England’s Ellie Gower, Sweden’s Sofie Bringner and Spain’s Beatriz Barrios.
Portugal’s Sofia Barroso Sa shot a one-under-par 71 to be tied-21st with four other players.
Switzerland’s Natalie Armbruester, who is second in the 2026 LETAS OOM, shot a one-over-par 73 to sit tied-38th right on the projected cut line.
Last week’s Iberdrola Calatayud Ladies Open champion Elsa Svensson opened with an even-par 72, while other notable scores include Australia’s Hannah Reeves (72), Germany’s Hanna Tauber (73), Iceland’s Hulda Gestsdottir (76) and Czechia’s Tereza Zapletal Kozeluhova (80).
Round 2 of the Super Bock Ladies Open will resume at 9.30am (local time) and there will be a cut to the top 45 professionals and ties.
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