MOTHERHOOD has made British golfer Karen Stupples more patient and she made the most of that attribute while charging one stroke clear in the Kraft Nabisco Championship first round.
The 34-year-old English woman, who gave birth to son Logan James 12 months ago, fired a flawless five-under-par 67 to take control in breezy conditions at Mission Hills Country Club.
"I think that having had seven months off from competition
did me a world of good because it gave me a chance to recuperate and recharge mentally," Stupples said after setting the pace in the first women's major of the year.
"My practice time has to be a little bit more limited now, since I have had the baby, so I have made it much more of a quality practice," added the Florida resident, who clinched her only major title at the 2004 Women's British Open.
"When you have a baby, you have to learn a bit of patience, and that's always been a tough thing for me, so I think it's been really good for me."
Stupples competed at Mission Hills for four years in a row from 2003 but missed out last season.
"This was one of the tournaments that when I sat at home pregnant watching on TV, I really wanted to be here playing," she said. "It feels great to be back because, every time you come here it feels special. It's really funny. I would say up until about a month ago I hadn't really regained my full strength and all of a sudden it came back almost overnight."
North Berwick's Catriona Matthew had a very disappointing 77, while Janice Moodie shot a 73.
The full article contains 290 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
