On Friday at the Bay Course at Seaview, a Dolce Hotel, Paula Reto lit it up, firing a first-round 5-under 66 that saw her make one bogey and six birdies, including two back-to-back in her final two holes. It's Reto's second-lowest round of the 2023 season – she shot a 9-under 63 in the third round of the Honda LPGA Thailand – and it's her first round in the 60s since day one of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain. The 66 also ties her second-lowest opening round at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer, and she last shot a 66 or better at Seaview in 2021, ultimately finishing T7 that week, her only top-10 finish in the event. Reto was relieved to finally card a low one after a challenging start to her 2023 season and says that she's finally seeing some of the tweaks she's been making to her mental and physical game in recent weeks take effect.
“It’s been an up-and-down year so far, so it's been nice to see a little bit of red numbers,” said Reto, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens on day one. “However, it was a lot of focus having to make sure to start strong, which I've been trying to do. It's paid off, because it kept me in the game today and having to simplify it a little bit more, sort of just figure out what I have to do then in that moment. Being able to do that today really helped me. I've been changing a few things here and there as well, so I'm glad it's been paying off.
This week in Galloway, N.J. marks Reto’s 12th start of the season, and while she got off to a strong start with a T6 showing at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, it’s been rough for the 33-year-old since. She’s missed five cuts in her last six starts and her best finish since grabbing that early top 10 is a tie for 27th that came at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play presented by MGM Rewards in Las Vegas, Nev. But a round like the one she shot today can do a lot for a player’s confidence even in the throes of mediocrity and Reto hopes to take this small win and capitalize on it as she looks ahead to the majors and the rest of the season.
“I'm excited because I know I can build off this. Baby little steps from here on out, see what I need to work on late today. All those little positives will help me out, and small successes here and there kind of spreads out through the tournament and year,” said the South African, whose only LPGA Tour win came at the CPKC Women’s Open last year. “Last week I had like one session with Sean McBride, which is a mental guy out here. I sat down with him, explained to him what my year has been and we have a few things we changed to get me back on track. We feel like it was just the way I was thinking around the golf course. So something simple but makes a big difference. I'm going to keep working on that and see where it takes us.”
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