July 28, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Minjee Lee tees off on the third gap in the course of the remaining spherical of the CPKC Ladies’s Golf Open. Obligatory Credit score: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports activities Australia’s Minjee Lee shot a bogey-free, 5-under 67 to high the first-round leaderboard on the ISPS Handa Ladies’s Scottish Open in Ayrshire, Scotland on Thursday.
Moist climate prompted a number of delays at Dundonald Hyperlinks, with 42 golfers nonetheless on the course when play was suspended resulting from darkness at round 9.10pm native time.
At the moment, Lee had surpassed Megan Khang and South Korean participant A Lim Kim and was tied for second with a rating of 4-under 68. Lily Might Humphreys completed 12 holes at 4 underneath.
Lee, a two-time main champion, missed the match at 2 underneath after which birdied the tenth, thirteenth, 14th and 18th holes, the final two of which had been par 5s. She is on the lookout for her first win in 2024.
“I like the creativity of hyperlinks golf,” Lee mentioned. “, clearly it was very windy at the moment, so the sport was like an actual hyperlinks golf course. Typically we do not have that a lot wind, however at the moment it was very windy, and I believe simply imagining what it could be prefer to hit the ball, and I believe Having to execute these pictures – I do not suppose it is enjoyable to play and also you’re solely rewarded whenever you execute these pictures appropriately.
Earlier within the day, Kang stood close to a puddle off the inexperienced and made an unlikely chip-in for birdie on the par-5 fifth, her 14th gap of the day, to take the lead. . She made her sixth and remaining birdie of the day on the seventh gap to set her lead at 4 underneath.
“After that dangerous second shot, I walked as much as my ball and my heel was type of within the water and I joked, ‘I actually don’t care the place my foot is.’ I hit a pleasant one. Chip, very fortunate to drop it,” mentioned Kang, who has gained simply as soon as on the LPGA Tour to date.
Kang mentioned she discovered Thursday morning whereas trailing that the beginning of the race had been delayed by an hour.
“Fortunately, I did not should get moist after I got here again,” Kang mentioned. “Clearly, we’ve to do it with a mid-round delay, however that is going to occur. However I am blissful that we had been capable of get via this spherical and that allowed me to get the job performed at the moment.”
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, contemporary off her gold medal win in Paris, her third Olympic medal since 2016, opened with a 3-under 69. The match began with 5 birdies.
Like many golfers, she sees this week as a helpful tune-up for subsequent week’s Ladies’s British Open at St. Andrews.
“That is a part of our job. We’ve got to adapt to the climate, the kind of golf course, the kind of grass,” Gao mentioned.
“So we – I believe it is dependent upon who adjusts finest in a brief time frame… We have two weeks right here to play links-style golf, so all in all, that is good for subsequent week. Nicely effectively ready, regardless that that is in fact a special type to St Andrews.
Lauren Coughlin, Japan’s Ayaka Furue and South Africa’s Nicole Garcia additionally shot 69, and Lucy Lee was 3 underneath via 15 holes.
Amongst different notable gamers, Rose Zhang and Eire’s Leona Maguire opened with a 73, one over par.
–Scene-level media
