By Kent Gray
South African Lee-Anne Pace set the, ahem, pace on the opening day of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open with a six-under 66 at Saadiyat Beach.

But the 36-year-old former Ladies European Tour Player-of-the-Year has plenty of close company on a leaderboard smothered in red numbers. Here’s a selection of reactions from players just off Lee-Anne’s Pace (we promise to stop now):

Marianne Skarpnord (Norway/67)

“I was a little tired this morning, having to wake up at about 4.30am but theconditions were perfect. I played a solid round and I got a bit lucky on the 18^th [where she holed out for an eagle two], so it was a good start, which is important on this course as it’s quite a score-able course to do well on. I haven’t been playing that well lately and I’m just trying to get out there, chill and have fun and hit the golf ball.

Amy Boulden (Wales/67)
 “Yes, I played well. I had a lot of birdie chances and my putts weren’t that great today, I holed a few but I did miss a few short ones too, which is very unlike me. I loved the early start, as it’s generally cooler out there at that time and of course it got hot but there was a nice breeze too.”

Jenny Haglund (Sweden/67)
 “I played really well and I putted it well today, so I’m very happy. It was my putting that worked really well. I made lots of putts and lots of birdies that’s what made the difference.”

Victoria Loveday (Brazil/68)

.@vic_brasil_golf cards a 1st round 68 to move into T4 position @FBMLadiesOpen on -4 pic.twitter.com/ZflVPpG5vy

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 1, 2017

“It was a great day. It was a beautiful morning as well. The wind wasn’t blowing that much. I love this game, that view on the course and keeping in the present gave me good vibes. Going forward I am in a good place and the tournament is only going to end on Saturday so there is lot of golf to be played and I’m just going to keep enjoying myself, one shot at a time.”

Georgia Hall (England/69)

“Yeah I played really well today, I hit loads of greens, my long game was really good, I just couldn’t hole anything on the front nine. In my opinion, I could have easily hit seven-under today. The greens were a little hard to read on the front nine, because you’ve got to read the grain too but it’s a solid start for day one. I’ve played the first round now so I am off and going, hopefully I can just putt a little better tomorrow.”

The post They said it at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.