At The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas, Ryu Hae-ran of South Korea and Liu Yan of China each fired a bogey-free 7-under 65 to share the first-round lead at the Chevron Championship.
Their stellar performance stood in stark contrast to defending champion Nelly Korda, who struggled to a 77. Play was halted late Thursday as storm clouds rolled in, leaving 24 competitors unable to finish the opening round. Korda finished at 4-over par, 11 strokes behind the leaders.
Ryu built momentum with five birdies in her first 10 holes and capped her day with a seventh birdie on her closing hole. She praised her mid-season switch to a new putter, saying it felt more comfortable on the greens and helped her sink tricky putts.
Liu, chasing her first LPGA Tour win, turned in a strong back nine with four birdies in five holes and added a closing birdie to lock in her 65. She credited recent tweaks to her driver for giving her tee shots more consistency this week.
Just one stroke off the lead, Kim Hyo-joo of South Korea carded a 67 despite a late bogey on the 18th hole, setting up a tight leaderboard as play resumes.
Meanwhile, Korda, last year’s Rolex Player of the Year, heads back to the range after a challenging opener. With the weather delay lifting, fans can expect intense action and leaderboard shuffle when the second round begins.
Reference(s):
Ryu, Liu share Chevron Championship lead in suspended first round
cgtn.com
