It was first round struggles for Lauren Walsh, Leona Maguire, and Stephanie Meadow as the trio of Irish golfers failed to post under-par rounds at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major of the season. The calm and partly cloudy conditions at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minneapolis yielded low scores, but unfortunately the Irish could not capitalise.
Kildare’s Lauren Walsh, who was the best of the Irish bunch, got off to quite a poor start as the 25-year-old made three early bogeys to see herself three-over-par after five holes. Walsh managed to limit the bleeding with a birdie at the par-5 seventh to take the turn at two-over.
Another sore bogey came at the par-3 13th but Walsh can be proud of how she finished, making birdie at the 16th and 18th to get back to the clubhouse at one-over-par in a share of T70. With the projected cutline sitting at +1, Walsh will be looking for a strong second round to give herself some breathing room.
Similar to Walsh, Leona Maguire got off to a poor start with three quick fire bogeys except this time, Maguire began her day on the back nine. Three-over after four holes, Maguire began to steady the ship as she went on a par-train for the next five holes.
That train was soon halted however, with another bogey at the par-4 first. Maguire had to wait until her 17th hole to get her first birdie as the 31-year-old posted a three-over-par 75 to sit T109. Maguire will need to find her form of old on Friday if she looks to have a competitive weekend.
It was a day to forget for Antrim’s Stephanie Meadow, who was a late addition to the field, as the 34-year-old seemed to have lost all ability to swing the club as she posted a 10-over-par 82 to sit at the bottom of the leaderboard.
At the top South Korea’s Ina Yoon posted a bogey-free 63 to lead by two strokes after 18-holes. The 23-year-old was on a heater on the back nine, making five birdies in six holes to match the best score in the history of the Women’s PGA Championship.
Yoon’s incredible form couldn’t be put into words, not even by herself; “I just hit golf ball and it just dropped the hole and was really, you know, awesome experience,” she said.
Nelly Korda, who’s aiming to become just the third woman to win the first three major tournaments on the schedule, posted a two-under-par 70.
“I put myself into a good position. I’m really happy with the first day. You can’t win it on the first day but you can definitely lose it. Yeah, just overall happy with a solid start,” said Korda.
Australia’s Karis Davidson sits in second place with a first round score of 65.
“Hit a lot of fairways. Hit a lot of greens. Putting was pretty on today. Really felt like I was going to hole everything,” Davidson said. “So it was a pretty perfect round,” said the 27-year-old Aussie.
Jeeno Thitikul, the second-ranked player in the world who’s seeking her first career major, shot a 69 to sit T8.
USA’s Amanda Doherty made an ace at the 17th, as she posted an even-par 72.
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