Kirsty S Taylor

“It’s been a tough year mentally after losing my dad and missing the cuts didn’t help either. Most of them I missed by just one or two shots and it saps your confidence a lot,” said Taylor, the 2002 Bill Johnson Rookie of the Year.

“I need a top three finish this week to keep my card in Europe so that’s the aim. I feel like I’ve got my confidence back and today was the first time I have enjoyed myself on a golf course for a long time and I feel I am back where I should be.”

And Dickens, who was recently crowned as the WPGA Order of Merit champion in the UK, notched up five birdies and one bogey as she tries to avoid a trip back to qualifying school in Portugal at the end of the month.

“I’ve been playing well in the WPGA events, but I have not been able to get it going out on Tour,” said Dickens, who plays out of Brampton Heath GC.

“I’ve been seeing Peter Mitchell for lessons and he’s really turned my game around and I’ve worked really hard on my putting too, so it’s nice to see it come together out here this week.”

And the Tour welcomes the return to competitive golf to Caroline Hall who plays in her first event since giving birth to her first child ten weeks ago. Hall, who brought baby Joseph and her husband Stephen out to Biarritz, began her return to competitive golf with a more than credible five over par 75.