Day 1 leaders escape the pressure at Landfall Tradition

Facing one of their most difficult challenges of the season, the best women’s collegiate golfers in the country must have some of their best concentration this weekend at the Landfall Tradition.

But in Round 1 on Friday at the Dye Course, the tournament leaders used welcome distractions to propel themselves to the top.

Arizona State’s Carlota Ciganda birdied the 18th hole to pull into a tie with Alabama’s Camilla Lennarth at 4-under-par 68 in the individual standings.

For them, it was less about the leaderboards and more about their surroundings.

“Get up to the ball, and now it’s time to hit the shot,” Lennarth said of her mindset throughout the day.

The tall trees and high-end houses of Landfall were great complements to her round of bogey-free round.

“And afterward, you’re smiling inside, ‘Oh, I love this place.’ The people are nice. And it’s wonderful.”

Ciganda eased her pressure by resorting to her native langauge, thanks to a pairing with fellow Spaniards Carmen Perez-Narbon of UNC-Wilmington and Marta Silva Zamora of Georgia.

“All Spanish,” Ciganda said with a smile. “It was great playing with them, because I know them and they are my friends. And it’s always nice to play with your friends.”

The distractions were welcome on a day the field was tested by the Dye Course’s large, fast greens. Lennarth said her Crimson Tide team practiced on indoor carpet to replicate the speed, which many people said was the fastest of the season.

“It was a lot tougher last week because we got a lot of rain and it was very cold in Auburn,” said Cydney Clanton, a Concord, N.C., native who is tied for third at 70.

“Tough to simulate fast greens like this. But what you do is, you go out, you chip, you get confident. That’s all you can do.”

The Pacific-10 Conference flexed its muscle as a group, as Southern California, UCLA and Arizona State lead the team standings.

But the course, which will also hold the 2010 NCAA Championships in late May, kept most teams packed together; 50 of the field’s 90 players shot between 72 and 77.

“I thought there would be more around (4 under),” Lennarth said. “Especially because (playing partners Lizette Salas of USC and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Purdue) got off to really good starts.

“I was like, ‘Today is going to be a low day.’ There are a lot of birdie opportunities out there, if you keep it in play.”

Dan Spears: 343-2038

On Twitter.com: @DanSpears