By Kent Gray

Lee-Anne Pace has a surname tailor made for the top of golf leaderboards, not to mention easy/cheesy headlines. She’s also a pace-setter with a game that ensures her full name regularly gets engraved on important trophies.

The 36-year-old South African set a cracking early mark at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open Wednesday with an opening six-under 66 at Saadiyat Beach G.C.

She’ll take a one stroke advantage into Thursday over six players – Jenny Haglund (Sweden), Marianne Skarpnord (Norway), Amy Boulden (Wales), Isa Gabsa (Germany), Aditi Ashok (India) and Florentyna Parker (England) – after a red number day in Abu Dhabi where 55 players bettered par.

Pace, who mainly plys her trade on the LPGA Tour in the United States, is playing the FBMLO for the first time but remains one of the Ladies European Tour’s marquee stars.

Her breakout year in 2010 was nothing short of sensational – five wins, the order-of-merit title and Players’ Player-of-the-Year honours courtesy of 92 percent of the vote. She’s added four more LET titles since, the last in 2014 at her home South Africa Open, the same year she captured her thus far sole LPGA title at the LPGA Blue Bay in China.

The world No.97 started the 2017 LPGA season with a bang with a fourth placing at February’s Honda LPGA Thailand and backed it up with another top 10 and three more top 20s in her next four starts. Her form dipped thereafter – she finished 88th in the CME Globe Rankings – but has come good in her last two LET starts with a share of second in Spain in September and a T-16 at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France last month.

She rode a hot putter Wednesday at Gary Player’s ocean-front layout, a course she sees as ripe for the picking.

“It’s the first time that I’ve played here and the par fives are definitely reachable. I messed one up, the 15th, where I went into the water, but I managed a par there,” said Pace who mixed seven birdies (two of them on par 5s) against a lone bogey on the tough 16th.

“It wasn’t perfect but I did make a lot of putts and seven birdies is quite nice. I played nicely, hit 14 greens and made quite a few putts for par saves, so the putter was working.”

Parker looked set to join Pace atop the leaderboard but the Solheim Cupper bogeyed the 18th to settle for a 67. It was a top start too for 24-year-old Haglund, the current Rookie-of-the Year leader and Ashok who won that honour last year while Boulden will be buoyed by the fast start after the frustration of failing to advance from the second stage of LPGA Tour Q-School in Florida last month.

Cheyenne Woods is poised just three shots back after a 69, alongside Georgia Hall who is third on the LET money list but in pole position to win the OOM title as leader Anna Nordqvist and second-placed In-Kyung Kim have not played the requisite five events to qualify. Kim, the reigning Women’s British Open champion, is scheduled to play the season ending Omega Dubai Ladies Classic but that will only bring her up to four events.

Hall hinted at a fast start with Boulden and friends at Yas Marina on the eve of the tournament. Check out the great LET promo – and some priceless expressions – here:

American Beth Allen opened her title defence with a one over 73 which included a topsy-turvy double bogey, bogey, par, chip-in birdie finish while new European Solheim Cup captain Catrions Matthew signed for a one-under 71 and Dame Laura Davies an even par 72. Even par is already to the projected cut line.

Solheim Cup rookie Mel Reid withdrew from the tournament with a back injury after opening with a 77.