South Korea’s An Na-rin shot a bogey-free 64, eight under par, to take a one-shot lead after Thursday’s first round of the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship.
An made three birdies in a row from the 11th hole and made eight birdies in total to finish one ahead of Angel Yin, who holed a long eagle putt from the fringe at the par-5 17th to take the lead. second place.
“I played well,” An said. “My putting was really good. The speed was good and the form was good. I was just trying to focus a little more.”
Americans Marina Alex and Allisen Corpuz share third place with 66.
The top 60 players in the season’s points race qualified for the $11 million showdown with a $4 million top prize at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
An felt no added pressure with the record payout for the end of the season.
“It’s pretty much the same with different tournaments. For me, a single tournament is a tournament. I just do my best,” she said.
An, 28, had her best finish on the LPGA earlier this season in Portland, where she had a hole-in-one in her second-place finish.
World number 76 An birdied the par-5 second, fourth and sixth, then closed the front nine with another birdie before her streak of nine back birdies and a birdie at the 17th.
Yin, ranked 34th, made bogeys at the second and fourth, but then made three birdies in four holes, the par-3 fifth and eighth and the par-5 sixth.
The 26-year-old American started the back nine with four birdies in five holes, then added her eagle on the 17th.
“I started off a little rough just because I was trying to adjust to the golf course – playing pretty rough with the first winds,” Yin said.
“It’s a good head start for the grand prize we’ll receive at the end of the week. Hopefully I’ll continue and see how it goes on Sunday.”
A fifth-place pack of 67 included Sweden’s Linn Grant, France’s Céline Boutier, Japan’s Nasa Hataoka, Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, a two-time winner of the event.
“I had a few good birdie opportunities,” Ko said. “It was really steady.”
Top-ranked Nelly Korda, seeking her eighth title of the year, opened with a par 72 to find herself eight spots off the lead in a share of 44th.
Korda, who already captured the LPGA Player of the Year title, opened with a birdie but stumbled with back-to-back birdies at three and four.
The 26-year-old American birdied the par-3 eighth before making a bogey at the 10th and a birdie at the 17th.
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