Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Yan Liu of China carded bogey-free rounds of 7-under-par 65 before play was suspended on the first day of the Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the season, on Thursday in The Woodlands, Texas.
Ryu and Liu have a two-shot lead over South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim (67) at The Club at Carlton Woods.
American Lucy Li was 4 under through 14 holes when play was halted due to darkness. She is tied with Brooke Matthews, Belgium’s Manon De Roey, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, who shot 68.
Ryu is the 12th-ranked player in the world and has won twice on the LPGA Tour, while Liu entered the week ranked No. 195 and has never won stateside.
Ryu, who had five birdies through her first 10 holes, credited a putter change.
“That was amazing today because I change the putter last second (before the) round and more comfortable for my putting this week,” Ryu said. “… I (made) a lot of tricky ones and then birdie chance, and, yeah, it’s really good for me.”
Liu started her round on the back nine and made birdie at Nos. 10 and 12 before a string of pars. It was a different story when she reached the front nine, where she logged birdies at Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5, propelling her up the leaderboard before a closing birdie at the par-4 ninth.
“I think I do very good job on the offseason,” Liu said. “… Before I hit draw; right now, change to hit fade. I think that helped me to control my swing and my ball. Yes, so I think this is why (things are clicking for her).”
The major champion highest on the leaderboard is Kim. The 29-year-old won the 2014 Evian Championship and would love to double that major total more than a decade later.
The top score by an American came from an unlikely source. Matthews is ranked No. 340 in the world and has just one top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour.
“It isn’t another golf tournament, but at the same time it is,” Matthews said. “It’s fun to go off in the morning. It’s a little quieter. You get to go out there and play your game and not worry about the other stuff yet.”
She had a busy front nine (her closing nine), with three birdies, two bogeys and an eagle at the par-5 eighth.
“No. 8, hit a good drive kind of up the left side; had 221 to the flag, a little downwind,” Matthews said. “Hit a 4 hybrid; landed in the upslope and went to that back section where the pin is. I had like probably 12, 15 feet; snuck in the right edge.”
World No. 1 and defending champion Nelly Korda had a dismal start to the tournament, posting a 5-over 77 with six bogeys and one birdie. World No. 3 Lydia Ko of New Zealand also may struggle to make the cut Friday after opening with a 1-over 73.
–Field Level Media
