Vani shoots even par despite closing double bogey in Pattaya

Vani Kapoor dropped a disappointing double bogey on her very last hole to turn in an even par 72 and lie tied 24th after the opening round of the Ladies European Thailand Championship here today.

Lying two-under after 17 holes, Vani, who started with a birdie on 10th, dropped a double bogey on Par-4 ninth hole. Her otherwise satisfying round had four birdies, two bogeys and a double on a hot and humid day.

The other Indian, Gaurika Bishnoi (75) was lying 80th and she will need a strong second round to make the cut. She had two birdies and five bogeys at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club here.

Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands produced a brilliant five-under-par 67 to share the lead with local player Aunchisa Utama on day one.

The 22-year-old Dutchwoman made a flying start with four straight birdies from the 11th, her second hole. She double bogeyed the par-4 15th but recovered with a pair of birdies on the 16th and 18th to make the turn in four-under.

England's Gabriella Cowley and Australian Whitney Hillier, whose mother is from Thailand, are both only one shot adrift with Beth Allen from the United States and Maria Palacios from Spain both on three-under.

The shot of the day belonged to Scotland's Michele Thomson, who holed out with a 7-iron from 164 yards on the par-3 14th for her first professional ace.