By Gareth James

Lydia Hall was eyeing her second LET victory after finishing tied for the lead on the opening day of the Investec South African Women’s Open at Westlake Golf Club.

The Bridgend ace fired a two-under-par 70 to jointly lead with home heroine Lee-Anne Pace by one stroke from another South African duo  Tandi McCallum and Nicole Garcia.

But as well as chasing victory in the season opening Euros 2000,000 LET event, the tournament also has four qualifying spots for next month’s US Women’s Open at the Olympic Club.

Hall, who celebrated her only LET victory at the 2012 ISPS Handa Ladies British Masters, made a birdie on the second, before dropping a shot on the 11th but bounced back with successive birdies.

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The 33-year-old produced another birdie on the 15th but  a bogey on the 16th saw Hall sharing the lead in the Cape Town clubhouse.

“There was a couple of poor iron shots into the greens, which I’m going to work on, but overall, I’m really happy with how today went,” Hall said.

“I’m not too bad at a little bit of a bounce back. I spur myself on when I have made a little bit of an error. To try and pull it back and make a birdie on the next hole is important to me.

“It is a great opportunity to get a win under my belt. I love playing here and I’ve never played in a US Women’s Open.”