Feng and Parker set pace at DLM

Shanshan Feng sounded an early warning to her rivals, shooting a bogey-free 66 to share the lead with Florentyna Parker, her playing partner for the day, after the first round of the Dubai Ladies Masters on Wednesday The only golfer from mainland China to win a major title when she captured the LPGA Championship in June earlier this year, Feng rattled off three birdies in each half to set up a one-shot advantage along with England’s Parker, who mixed seven birdies with a lone bogey (on the seventh). Snapping on the heels of the leaders at five-under were Czech Republic’s  Klara Spilkova, Cindy Lacrosse and Sahra Hassan of Wales, just one ahead of a group of eight headed by German Caroline Masson, currently placed second on the ISPS Handa Order of Merit standings. Among the notables, defending champion Lexi Thompson signed off with a 69 while Michelle Wie and Carlota Ciganda, who leads the LET money list by €31,959 (Dh153,733) from Masson, each settled for two-under 70 to stay within string distance. Seasoned Laura Davies had a 71. Playing on a sponsor’s invitation, Feng said staying patience was the key to her round. “I missed a lot of scoring chances early in my round, and I was just one-under after seven holes, but I made quite a comeback to finish six-under ... really happy about the score,” said the sixth-ranked player in the world. “I picked the momentum after holing a 15-footer for a birdie on the eighth and thereafter I did really well,” said Feng, who has just joined the Omega family of brand ambassadors. “Being the highest-ranked player in the field, the pressure do well is there, but I would be glad with a top-five finish,” said the 23-year-old from Guangzhou. England’s Parker said she always had a good first round in Dubai. “We had a fantastic group and I think we were like 16-under par all together. Which was great,” said Parker, who hit 14 greens and made 26 putts. “I love the (Majlis) course, I love Dubai and feel quite comfortable here,” said the Englishwoman, who finished ninth and fourth in her previous last two outings here. American Thompson, who is aiming to make it two-in-a-row, felt she could have done even better, but lipped out several putts in a row. A three-under in the first round is always a good score and I will gladly take it,” said the defending champion. From Gulf Today