Lexi Thompson shoots 68 to take the lead in the first round of the Women’s PGA Championship

Thompson made six birdies on his way to a one-shot lead over Nelly Korda and Patty Tavatanakit.

Thompson began teeing off in the afternoon as temperatures soared into the 80s and the Sahalee Country Club dried out. Thompson started well with three straight birdies to open her round and built on last week when she lost in a playoff at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

The 29-year-old Thompson, who recently announced her plans to retire after the season, shot a bogey-free 32 on the front nine, highlighted by a 6-foot birdie on the par-3 ninth. After a bogey at No. 10, Thompson rebounded with birdies at Nos. 12 and 14 before another bogey at the 16th.

She won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in June 2019. The 68 is her lowest round in a major since a 67 in the second round of the Women’s PGA at Congressional two years ago.

“My approach shots felt great,” Thompson said. “They felt really good last week, so I tried to simplify things and get into a rhythm with my swing.”

Korda shot 69 in the morning, and Tavatanakit matched it in the afternoon with a bogey-free round.

The top-ranked Korda missed the cuts in the U.S. Women’s Open and the Meijer LPGA Classic in her last two starts after winning six of seven events, a streak that started with a record five straight wins.

Korda started on the back nine and made four birdies on her first five holes. But parts of the morning were a struggle for Korda, as Sahalee’s Douglass firs, red cedars and hemlocks played their part in making it a challenge. A double bogey on the par-4 fourth hole dropped her to 2 under.

“If you try to be aggressive when you hit him off-line, he’ll just bite you in the ass,” Korda said. “Overall I think I played pretty well. I took my chances where I could and played it safe for most of the round.”

Korda made a 15-foot putt on the par-3 ninth hole – her final hole – to take an early lead.

There was another group of players at 2 under, including Allisen Corpuz, Celine Boutier, Charley Hull and Leona Maguire. Maguire led this tournament after the third round last year at Baltusrol, but shot 74 shots on the final day to finish four shots behind the winner, Ruoning Yin.

Playing with Korda, Yin recovered from a rough start to shoot 33 on her second nine and shoot 71.

“Luckily I got into it pretty straight today. Hit a lot of fairways and greens. But it does feel like a course where once you are out of position it is difficult to get back on track,” said Corpuz, who has an outside chance to win the Olympic Games for the United States this week with a strong finish. reach states.

The third major of the year on the LPGA Tour returned to Sahalee, which took place earlier in 2016. And the tree-lined course showed just how difficult it is.

Lilia Vu, who won last week in her return from a back injury, shot 75. Yuka Saso, the winner of the US Open three weeks ago, made four consecutive bogeys on the back nine to finish at 2-over 74. Brooke Henderson, who won in 2016, shot 73.

Korda got off to a much better start than her last major, when she scored 80 in the opening round of the US Women’s Open three weeks ago.

Korda’s early run of birdies included three consecutive birdies between Nos. 13-15 and she went out in 33. She moved to 4 under after a birdie on the third hole – her 12th of the day – but dropped two shots on the fourth .

“This whole golf course is so demanding,” Korda said. “I had to go through some pretty good ups and downs.”

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