Nelly Korda, the current world number one, is aiming for her fifth consecutive victory, while Australian golfer Gabriela Ruffels has made a strong start at the Chevron Championship, the first major tournament for women this year.
Round 1 Leaderboard
Lauren Coughlin (USA) 6-underMinami Katsu (JPN) 4-underMarina Alex (USA) 4-underNelly Korda (USA) 4-underXiyu Lin (CHN) 3-underLydia Ko (NZL) 3-underGabriela Ruffels (AUS) 3-under
Other Australians
Sarah Kemp 2-underStephanie Kyriacou level parKaris Davidson level parRobyn Choi 1-overMinjee Lee 2-overGrace Kim 4-overHannah Green 5-overHira Naveed 6-over
American Lauren Coughlin shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 to lead in the early stages at The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas, with Nelly Korda close behind.
Gabriela Ruffels, celebrating her 24th birthday, posted a 3-under 69 to be tied for fifth and the top Australian player among nine competitors.
The next best Australian players are Sarah Kemp (70), Steph Kyriacou and Karis Davidson (72), and Robyn Choi (73).
Former major champions Minjee Lee (74) and Hannah Green (77) have some ground to make up.
Ruffels, now ranked 84th in the world after being outside the top 200 a year ago, has had success at this major in the past, finishing in the top 25 three times when it was held at Mission Hills in California before moving to The Woodlands last year.
“This tournament has always been special to me. I have great memories from it and I hope to have another good week,” she said.
“It’s my birthday today, so I was happy to have a good round — it felt really solid.”
Starting on the 10th hole, Ruffels quickly reached three-under with birdies on three of her first six holes, but then gave back shots with consecutive bogeys on 16 and 17.
After another birdie on the 18th, Ruffels’ back nine was steadier, with a bogey on the third hole offset by birdies on the sixth and ninth.
Coughlin, ranked 94th in the world at 31 years old, has only three top-10 finishes in her LPGA career.
Playing with her husband as caddie, Coughlin started strong with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes and finished with three birdies on each side in windy conditions.
When asked about her main competition for the week, Coughlin mentioned Nelly Korda.
“Nelly, of course,” Coughlin said. “She’s everyone’s competition.”
Korda is vying for her second major title after winning the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021, aiming to join Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) as the only women to win five consecutive LPGA events.
The 25-year-old finished the day birdieing four of her final six holes to tie with Marina Alex and Minami Katsu.
Korda admitted to feeling fatigued from recent tournaments at the start of her round, opening with a bogey on the 10th hole.
“I definitely still felt some tiredness, so it took me a while to get going,” she said.
“I felt nervous at the start of the round. Once I made the turn, I played more freely.”
Last year’s champion, Lilia Vu, withdrew just before her tee time due to a back injury.
“Some days are better than others, and unfortunately today was not a good day,” she said in a statement on Instagram.
“During my warm-up, I had severe back discomfort and felt that I couldn’t compete at my best, so I decided to withdraw from the tournament.”
AAP
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