Minjee Lee of Australia carded a bogey-free, 5-under-par 67 to rise to the highest of the first-round leaderboard on the ISPS Handa Ladies’s Scottish Open on Thursday in Ayrshire, Scotland.
After moist climate led to a number of delays to the proceedings at Dundonald Hyperlinks, 42 golfers have been nonetheless on the course when play was suspended for darkness at round 9:10 p.m. native time.
By that time, Lee had moved in entrance of Megan Khang and South Korea’s A Lim Kim, tied for second at 4-under 68. England’s Lily Might Humphreys was 4 beneath by means of 12 holes.
Lee, a two-time main champion, went out in 2 beneath earlier than including birdies at Nos. 10, 13, 14 and 18, the latter two on par-5 holes. She’s on the hunt for her first victory of 2024.
“I just like the creativity of hyperlinks golf,” Lee mentioned. “You realize, clearly there was plenty of wind immediately so it was enjoying like a real hyperlinks sort of golf course. Typically we do not get as a lot wind however immediately was blowing a gale and I really feel like simply picturing the pictures and simply having to execute these pictures, I believe is — I did not discover it enjoyable to play. Simply once you execute it accurately, you get rewarded.”
Earlier within the day, Khang stood close to a puddle off the inexperienced and holed an unlikely chip-in birdie on the par-5 fifth gap, her 14th gap of the day, to take the lead. She made her sixth and ultimate birdie of the day at No. 7 to set the lead at 4 beneath.
“I walked as much as my ball after the poor second shot and my heels have been sort of in just a little standing water and I used to be joking, like, ‘I do not actually care the place my toes are.’ I hit a stunning chip and really fortunate to have gotten it to drop,” mentioned Khang, who has gained simply as soon as on the LPGA Tour up to now.
Khang mentioned she was working behind Thursday morning earlier than discovering out the beginning of the spherical was delayed by an hour.
“So fortunately I did not should get moist and are available again in,” Khang mentioned. “Clearly we had to do this with the mid spherical delay however that is going to occur. However I am very joyful we have been capable of end the spherical and sort of will get me finished for the day.”
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, contemporary off profitable gold on the Paris Olympics for her third Olympic medal since 2016, opened the match with a 3-under 69 that featured 5 birdies.
Like many golfers, she sees this week as a helpful tune-up for the Ladies’s British Open, that are going down subsequent week at St. Andrews.
“It is a part of our job. Now we have to get acclimated to the climate, the kind of golf course, the kind of grass,” Ko mentioned.
“So we simply — I believe it sort of relies upon who adjusts the perfect in a brief period of time … Now we have two weeks over right here enjoying links-style golf programs, so all in all it is nice preparation for subsequent week, regardless that it is a completely different model in fact to St Andrews.”
Lauren Coughlin, Japan’s Ayaka Furue and South Africa’s Nicole Garcia additionally shot 69, and Lucy Li was at 3 beneath by means of 15 holes.
Amongst different notables, Rose Zhang and Eire’s Leona Maguire opened with 1-over 73s.
–Subject Stage Media
