Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh sit either side of the provisional cutline after day one at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan which sees a jam-packed leaderboard.
Amidst unseasonably cold and windy conditions at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, on the outskirts of Grand Rapids, the chilly gusts made low-scoring tough.
Maguire, winner of this event in 2023, started fast with a birdie on the first but gave that shot back on the fifth, and she traded another birdie on 15 with a bogey on 17, making pars on all the other holes and her level-par round of 72 leaves her tied for 61st but just six shots off the lead and four off fourth.
Walsh, who posted a career-best LPGA finish when taking third place at the Shoprite LPGA a fortnight ago, made two double bogeys in her first three holes with a birdie sandwiched in between to fall to +3.
She clawed her way back to +1 with birdies on five and 10 and that’s how she finished though she needed to birdie the par-5 18th to card a 73 that leaves her sharing 90th place.
Yan Liu savoured the challenge Mother Nature presented, vaulting to the top of the leaderboard in the morning wave with a six-under-par round of 66. Liu got off to a fast start with four birdies in a five-hole stretch on holes Nos. 4-8 offset by a single bogey to go out in 33. Liu says she used the wind to her advantage, which she said contributed to her highlight of the day which came at the par three, 15th hole where she says the wind gave the ball a little nudge into the hole for her sixth birdie of the day.
“Actually, I prefer hot,” Liu said with a laugh about the weather conditions on Thursday. “I just very focus my process today. Because it’s very windy, a lot of things out of my control so I just do what I can control.”
Thursday’s round wasn’t the only low round of the season for Liu, who carded a final round, 67 on Sunday at the Chevron Championship for her only top 10 of the season with a tie for fourth.
By early afternoon the clouds had parted and the sun peeked through, warming temperatures, but the wind never let up throughout the opening round. Cassie Porter and Jessica Porvasnik climbed within one of the lead with afternoon rounds of 67.
Porvasnik was riding high on a new set of irons that she put in her bag for the first time this week. Porvasnik says her husband insisted that this was the time that she make a change, especially ahead of next week’s major championship. Although she says she’s adverse to making changes, and that it takes her awhile to adjust to new equipment, her five-under par opening round has her feeling quite confident in her new gear.
“I think they just hopefully fit well,” Porvasnik said about her new irons. “That’s what a change should be, is it should be something that’s kind of you go out and play the shot and you’re like ‘ooh, this is it’.”
Porter pulled within one of the lead alongside Porvasnik with a two-putt birdie at the par five, 18th hole from long range that lifted her to five-under par. Porter got off to a strong start in her tournament debut at the Meijer LPGA Classic in 2025 when she opened with a 68, but faded with over par rounds on the weekend. The second year member said that week was a learning experience, just as each week continues to be for her on the LPGA Tour.
“I think you definitely learn out here there are places you just can’t miss it,” Porter said about Blythefield. “Just being aware of that when you’re playing the course. Also it’s a course that you can be a little bit more aggressive in places, so just taking advantage of the opportunities is pretty important.”
During the morning wave, Celine Borge, Benedetta Moresco, Daniela Darquea, and Jing Yan jumped to the top of a jam-packed leaderboard with rounds of 68. In the afternoon they were joined by rookie Nastasia Nadaud, Minji Kang, Jennifer Kupcho, and Youmin Hwang.
Thursday morning, Julia Lopez Ramirez carded a hole in one at the par three, 13th hole from 170 yards with a 7-iron en route to posting a one-under, par 71.
“It was blowing pretty hard down there. It was a left-to-right wind and we got a number that was basically my full 7-iron,” Lopez Ramirez said as she debated between hitting a six or a seven iron. “Pitch like two meters short, like the perfect fade. Pitch two short, another bounce, and rolled in; throw the club up, hands in the air. I was like, no way.”
Defending champion Carlota Ciganda opened with a round of 72 that leaves her alongside Maguire, highlighted by an eagle at the par five, 18th hole.
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