{"id":25055,"date":"2026-07-02T08:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/?p=25055"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:39:02","slug":"gilly-leads-the-letas-with-venezuela-on-her-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/en\/gilly-leads-the-letas-with-venezuela-on-her-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Gilly Leads the LETAS with Venezuela on Her Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Venezuela\u2019s Vanessa Gilly<\/strong> may be leading a LET Access Series (LETAS) event for the first time in her career, but golf is the last thing on her mind.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old, who fired a bogey free five-under 68, is thinking about her fellow Venezuelans affected by last Wednesday\u2019s back-to-back earthquakes which killed thousands in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cVenezuela is going through a really hard time,\u201d she said. \u201cRepresenting Venezuela has always been an honour and I\u2019m so proud of it.<\/p>\n

Being able to shoot a round like this and being in contention for this tournament, while Venezuela is going through that, I am playing for my country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am just so happy to be able to put the flag of Venezuela up there and making more people aware of what\u2019s going on right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilly leads Wales\u2019 Ffion Tynan (69) by one stroke, while the trio of Spain\u2019s Clara Moyano Reigosa, Denmark\u2019s Cecilie Leth-Nissen and Sarah Skovgaard Bils (all 70) are tied for third at three-under overall.<\/p>\n

Finland\u2019s Tiia Koivisto, Spain\u2019s Maria Hernandez and England\u2019s Ellie Gower (all 71) trail by another shot at two-under for the tournament.<\/p>\n

Hailing from the capital city of Caracas, many of Gilly\u2019s family and friends were caught in the epicentre of the quakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family is alive, which is everything that matters right now,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom one day to another, we\u2019re just so lucky to be alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of friends and family members helping the situation and trying to rescue people from under the buildings that were destroyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s just really tough right now mentally to be here in Europe, and life continues, and I’m just like, wake up and go play golf, while that’s happening in my country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s just a really tough mental thing that I have to go through, but I think we as athletes have to try to be built for it and be able to separate and compartmentalise situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting from the 11th<\/sup> tee, Gilly, who hit 13 greens in regulation, got off to a hot start with birdies on holes 13 and 14.<\/p>\n

She added birdies on the first and eighth holes, before draining a 10-footer on the par-5 10th<\/sup> for a fifth birdie despite finding the greenside bunker.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just really nice and simple golf,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of those days where the misses were fine, so that really helped, and I was able to take advantage on the pins that looked like I could go for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really grateful because I\u2019ve been playing good and it felt like my golf game was really good, but I was just waiting for a round like this to finally appear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just sticking to the process and trusting the process. I don\u2019t think my game changed today. It was just a lot of good and simple stuff done correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilly is playing just her fifth LETAS<\/strong> <\/a>event and finds herself in on top of the leaderboard in a stacked field including the winners of all the opening six tournaments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a new position,\u201d she said. \u201cBut my game plan stays the same. I just want to keep doing what I\u2019m doing, keep it simple, trust my game and my swing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know where my golf is right now. I\u2019m doing the right things, just stay in the moment, shot by shot and stick to my strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just one good round again tomorrow, and then the next day and we\u2019ll see in what position that leaves me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welshwoman Tynan is close behind after mixed five birdies and one bogey to card a solid round of four-under.<\/p>\n

Another shot behind, Moyano Reigosa and Skovgaard Bils both shared similar scorecards with six birdies, one bogey and the same double-bogey on the par-4 17th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

With rain starting to hit the course at about 4pm local time, those with afternoon tee times had to navigate tougher conditions.<\/p>\n

The best score from the later session came from England\u2019s Gower, whose two-under 71 comprised four birdies and two bogeys.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s PGA Championship winner Elsa Svensson shot a one-under 72 to stay four strokes back, while Ladies German Challenge champion Moa Svedenskiold (74) is six shots behind.<\/p>\n

Other notable scores include France\u2019s Lauren Holmey (73), Iceland\u2019s Hulda Gestsdottir (74), Germany\u2019s Hanna Tauber (76) and Switzerland\u2019s Caroline Sturdza (78) who all had morning tee times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Venezuela\u2019s Vanessa Gilly may be leading a LET Access Series (LETAS) event for the first time in her career, but golf is the last thing on her mind. The 24-year-old, who fired a bogey free five-under 68, is thinking about her fellow Venezuelans affected by last Wednesday\u2019s back-to-back earthquakes which killed thousands in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[]},"categories":[45,893,864,881],"tags":[4195,5194],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t