Leona Maguire carded four birdies and three bogeys in an opening round of 70 that leaves her six shots off the lead after the first day of the US Women’s Open. Three of her birdies came during a good four hole run from the sixth to the ninth but a dropped shot sandwiched in between at the seventh limited the benefit.
Stephanie Meadow struggled early on after dropping shots at two of her opening three holes but recovered well to play the next 16 at one-under, good for an opening 72 that has her two shorts further back of Maguire
Mina Harigae drained nine birdies and shot a seven-under-par 64 to upstage an impressive amateur and take the first-round lead at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
Harigae took a one-shot lead over Swedish amateur Ingrid Lindblad, whose 65 stood as the best score for much of the day.
Ryann O'Toole, Australian Minjee Lee and Swede Anna Nordqvist were tied for third at 67. Lexi Thompson and Ally Ewing shot 68 to tie for sixth.
Harigae birdied five of the first nine holes to post a five-under 30 at the turn. A bogey at the par-five 10th didn’t derail her, as she recorded four more birdies in a five-hole stretch from 12-16.
Harigae, 32, is in a familiar position. She is still searching for her first LPGA victory but shared the 36-hole lead at a major last year, the Women's British Open, before finishing tied for 13th.
"Just being appreciative of where I am, really taking in the moment, but at the same time, not trying to put so much precedent on how big the moment is," Harigae said. "It's another day on the golf course, another hole. You just have to execute the shots and putts out there."
Before Harigae finished her round late in the afternoon, the day belonged to Lindblad, a 22-year-old amateur who played in a group with her idol and countrywoman, Annika Sorenstam. Lindblad started on the back nine and recovered from an opening bogey to shoot seven birdies, including three straight at one, two and three.
"I've played her tournaments since 2014, and then when I saw that I'm playing her, I was like, in shock," Lindblad said of Sorenstam. "I was like, this cannot be true."
Lindblad - who earlier this year won the Southeastern Conference golf championship playing for LSU - set a US Women’s Open record for the lowest round by an amateur.
Meanwhile on the PGA Tour, Cameron Young, Luke List, Davis Riley, South Korea’s KH Lee and Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes are tied with Smith for the lead at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
The six co-leaders are one stroke ahead of Will Zalatoris, Denny McCarthy, Sahith Theegala and Wyndham Clark, who each opened with rounds of four-under 68.
Riley joined the tie late in the day. The PGA Tour rookie briefly held the sole lead last Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge before finishing tied for fourth.
After playing the front nine in even par, Riley rang up three straight birdies at 11-13 and eagled the par-five 15th with a 17-foot putt.
Lee is looking for a Texas double after winning the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas two weeks ago for the second straight year. He holed out for an eagle two with a 152-yard shot at the ninth hole to make the turn in 31.
Ten players were tied for 11th at three-under 69, including Keegan Bradley, Max Homa, Shane Lowry, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas. Rory McIlroy shot a two-under 70 and Spain’s Jon Rahm was at even par after a 72.
Bryson DeChambeau played his first round on the PGA Tour since the Masters after recovering from wrist surgery in April. He shot a four-over 76 with four bogeys and one double bogey.
In similar fashion, Harris English made his first start on tour since January following hip surgery and shot a five-over 77.
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan was disqualified nine holes into the event after a tour rules official ruled he used a non-conforming club, which had markings pained in white on the face.
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