EWA BEACH, Hawaii — Hannah Green shot a 6-under 66 on Wednesday to take the lead after the primary spherical of the LPGA Lotte Championship.
Inexperienced had eight birdies, together with 5 on the entrance 9, at breezy Hoakalei Nation Membership, a first-time venue within the tenth version of the event. The Australian hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, and he or she wanted simply 26 putts.
“I have been hitting the ball good,” Inexperienced stated. “I simply felt like with the putter I simply wanted to see a pair go in. In order that’s type of what led to my rating right now. Holed a pair longer ones, which is good. Simply made the opening really feel slightly bit greater.”
She gained each her tour titles in 2019, taking the main KPMG Girls’s PGA Championship and the Cambia Portland Traditional.
“I actually get pleasure from coming to Hawaii,” Inexperienced stated. “It is such a relaxed vibe, and I feel that is what we’d like slightly bit extra of once we’re on the golf course. This afternoon, I am in all probability going to go to the seashore. Hopefully, does not get an excessive amount of windier or won’t be too nice.”
Hyo Joo Kim, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Aditi Ashok, Alison Lee and Gemma Dryburgh have been a stroke again.
“We have been fortunate to get out type of earlier than it actually began blowing,” Dryburgh stated. “Once we made the flip, it acquired fairly robust. Yeah, simply used my Scottish information.”
Defending champion Lydia Ko opened with a bogey-free 69.
“I felt like I saved it in play for many elements,” Ko stated. “The wind picked up rather a lot over my again 9, which is the entrance 9, so it made it lots harder on the market.”
Brooke Henderson, the one participant to have gained the event twice, had a 74. She had back-to-back bogeys, on the sixth and seventh holes, then dropped two extra strokes with a double bogey on the 180-yard, par-3 ninth.
Jennifer Kupcho, coming off a serious victory two weeks in the past at Rancho Mirage within the California desert, additionally posted a 74, and he or she is tied for 77th.
Danielle Kang — who owns 4 top-10 finishes this 12 months, together with a win on the season-opening Diamond Resorts Match of Champions in January, and is third within the Rolex Participant of the 12 months level standings — withdrew from the sphere following her spherical of 76 on account of harm.
Inbee Park, who completed tied for second eventually 12 months’s Lotte Championship, opened with a spherical of 80, her highest single-round rating because the second spherical of the 2019 Mediheal Championship, the place she additionally shot an 8-over 80.
The occasion was performed at Ko Olina Golf Membership for its first eight years, was canceled in 2020 and moved to Kapolei Golf Membership final 12 months.
