Some mothers do ‘ave ‘em? When Pamela Pretswell Asher found an appalling, plugged lie in the bunker with just the second shot of her long-awaited golfing comeback, she could have been forgiven for fearing a Frank Spencer-esque palaver would ensue.

There would be no comical farce for this particular mother, though. In her first event since late 2017, having taken time off to have her baby daughter, Kirsty, Pretswell Asher recovered from that early bogey six on her first hole and posted a spirited two-under 69 in round one of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open here at The Renaissance.

From a fairly inauspicious start, this was a pretty good day back at the office. “I thought I’d make it a bit dramatic with the start,” said the 30-year-old with a smile. “There was a heap of sand behind the ball and I didn’t get the first attempt out of the bunker. I was thinking that if I didn’t get the second one out, I should probably just pick up. After that hole, though, I didn’t really put a foot wrong.”

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Having been away from the competitive cut-and-thrust for so long, and plunging herself back into action against a world class field full of LPGA Tour campaigners, it was perhaps not surpising that Pretswell Asher just about needed another gulp of the gas and air on the first tee to combat the early jitters.  

Glasgow Times:

“That’s as nervous as I’ve been for such a long time,” she said. “After my tee-shot on the first, I gave my driver back to Ryan (her husband and caddie) and my hand was shaking. “I’d be nervous if I was in a club medal, much less the Scottish Open. Ryan was saying it was probably good to get the rubbish and drama out of the way first and then be pretty much stress-free.

“That’s my best score in a LPGA sanctioned event by quite a bit so maybe I should have had Kirsty a while ago?”

Carly Booth and Kylie Henry both had 70s while Catriona Matthew  leaked shots at 17 and 18 in a 71.