Lotta Wahlin takes lead at Dubai Ladies Masters

Lotta Wahlin took the clubhouse lead with a 6-under 66 Wednesday in the first round of the Dubai Ladies Masters, one stroke ahead of Becky Brewerton.The 28-year-old Wahlin, whose career was disrupted in 2009 when she was diagnosed with skin cancer, sank a 26-foot birdie putt on the 18th to go along with six other birdies and one bogey. The Swede is four shots clear of Lexi Thompson (70), the 16-year-old American who is the youngster winner ever on the LPGA Tour. Wahlin has struggled since returning this year to the European Tour full time, failing to earn a top 10 finish this season. She finished 52nd at last week’s Indian Open but could have turned things around on Wednesday.“I finally had a good round, finally was able to make all the putts,” Wahlin said. “I didn’t really make any mistakes and I was just playing very solid and made all my putts pretty much.”Wahlin has fully recovered from her skin cancer but still wears sun screen and has avoided tournaments in sunny locales such as Australia and Portugal. While Dubai normally can reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer, temperatures in December are much cooler. Though she has struggled to readjust to the demands of the tour, Wahlin said her cancer has allowed her to keep her setbacks in perspective.“Golf is not so important anymore,” Wahlin said. “If I have a bad round, I’m still disappointed. But it’s not the end of the world like it used to be. So that is a good thing.”Brewerton carded six birdies and a bogey. It was a marked improvement from the Indian Open, where the Welsh golfer finished 74th.“It was just completely different. It’s really hard to say sometimes what makes it change. For some reason, I played well,” Brewerton said. “I think it was just a different attitude. Last week, I over prepared, practiced too much, got a bit tired and got sick at end of week.”Thompson recovered from a slow start to make three birdies on her final three holes. The American teenager came into the tournament as one of the favorites, having won the Navistar LPGA Classic in September.“I struggled with my putter until the 16th hole,” Thompson said. “Then I figured some things out so it went well for the last three. I hit it well, just putts didn’t drop. I’ll just work on my putting and go out strong tomorrow.”