Good Grace: Aussies on fire at rich LPGA Tour event
Grace Kim has fired a sizzling seven-under-par opening round to spearhead an Australian blitz at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan.
A year after losing to Lilia Vu in a playoff, Kim rattled off six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 10th hole in her round of 65 to be outright second behind South Korean Mi Hyang Lee.
All up, five Australians occupy positions inside the top 15 at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont.
Karis Davidson produced a bogey-free 66 to share third with Sofia Garcia of Paraguay.
Dual major winner Minjee Lee and Gabriela Ruffels are a stroke further back in a tie for sixth after opening with 67s.
Fellow Australian Cassie Porter continued her great start to her rookie LPGA Tour season with a 68 to be joint 11th.
But leader Lee is the woman to catch after the Korean played a six-hole stretch in six under to set a cracking pace in the final event before next week's Women's PGA Championship in Texas.
Only three of the top 10 in the world are competing at the $US3 million tournament. Haeran Ryu, the highest-ranked player at No.5, shot a 69 in the afternoon.
Playing in the morning on the tree-lined course, Lee birdied holes five to eight, parred the ninth and eagled the 10th after surprising herself by reaching the green in two on the par-5 hole.
"I didn't expect I can hit the green there for my second shot," Lee said. "But it was a great line and good hit with the three wood and I made the green. It was almost 24 feet, like right-to left-eagle putt. I didn't expect to make it."
The 32-year-old capped the bogey-free round with further birdies on 14 and 17.
"I missed only two fairways," Lee said. "I think that's a lot of help to hit the greens a lot, too."
Kim chipped in for eagle on 10 and for birdie on 11 in her morning round.
"That was a good start to the back nine," the Sydneysider said.
"Just kind of saved pars early and then loosened up as we went on. That was quite nice."
Vu opened her title defence with a five-over 77.
With The AP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
21 minutes ago
- New York Times
South Africa win World Test Championship after five-wicket victory over Australia
Aiden Markram's brilliant 136 helped South Africa secure the World Test Championship for the first time with a five-wicket victory over favourites Australia at Lord's. The 30-year-old's eighth Test century had put his team in sight at the conclusion of day three, with the opener 102 not out. Kagiso Rabada had been key too, taking nine wickets across the two innings as Australia set 282 to win. Advertisement The game swung back and forth throughout, with the weather conditions initially appearing to favour the bowlers before South Africa's batters took advantage of clearer skies on day three. They lost captain Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs on day four but Markram took his team to within six of victory before he hammered Josh Hazlewood to Travis Head at midwicket. It left David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne to secure a memorable victory — South Africa's first in an ICC event. Having lost the toss and been asked to bat Australia slipped to 67-4, before Steve Smith and Beau Webster, playing in only his fourth Test, having made his debut earlier this year, steadied the ship with scores of 66 and 72 respectively. Rabada was the pick of the South African bowlers, dismissing Webster, who rode his luck, in his five-wicket haul. But Australia's bowlers quickly followed their lead with Mitchell Starc removing openers Markram and Ryan Rickelton, and Pat Cummins and Hazlewood taking one wicket each, leaving Bavuma and David Bedingham unbeaten at the end of play. South Africa looked to have regained a foothold after the first session of day two and were 121-5 at lunch, with captain Bavuma the only wicket to fall. But Australia captain Cummins took control with four further wickets, in addition to that of Bavuma, with the Proteas collapsing to 138. But then came another twist as Rabada and Lungi Ngidi shared seven wickets as Australia's top order crumbled. Alex Carey's 43 from 50 balls helped ease the pressure but even he could not survive until the end of the day, with Rabada trapping him lbw. With 28 wickets having fallen on the first two days of play, a sun-kissed Lord's appeared more favourable to the batters on day three. Starc, 35, and Hazlewood putting on a last-wicket stand of 59 to set a target of 282. Starc was buoyed by his batting and removed Rickelton for the second time in the match but Markram, having scored a duck in the first innings, provided much-needed poise at the crease and built a strong base with Wiaan Mulder and then captain Bavuma, who ended the day on an unbeaten 65. Bavuma appeared to suffer a hamstring injury shortly before tea and South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince confirmed on the BBC's Test Match Special that they had to make 'a call' on whether Bavuma could continue, with the 35-year-old himself adamant he wanted to play on. He and Markram saw off the Australian pace attack and left South Africa needing only 69 more runs to win at the close. Advertisement There were nerves when Bavuma fell to Cummins for 66 and Stubbs to Starc for eight but Markram was unfazed until he fell with victory in sight. This was the third edition of the biennial WTC, which began in the summer of 2019 with the five-match Ashes series between England and Australia. New Zealand won the first WTC in 2021 with a victory in the final against India, who were then defeated again in the decider against Australia two years later. The WTC comprises the nine leading Test nations in the world — Australia, India, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh. Over a two-year cycle, each competing nation plays six Test series, three at home and three away, with all series a minimum of two and a maximum of five matches. Teams earn 12 points for winning a match and four points for a draw, with teams ranked by the percentage of the maximum points they could have earned. The top two teams qualify for the final, a one-off match.
Associated Press
21 minutes ago
- Associated Press
South Africa wins the World Test Championship, its first major cricket title in 27 years
LONDON (AP) — South Africa won the World Test Championship against titleholder Australia by five wickets after knocking off the last 69 runs required on the fourth morning of the final on Saturday. The Proteas achieved their first major cricket title in 27 years, sparking wild celebrations at Lord's. They moved from a portentous 213-2 overnight to 282-5, the second highest successful run chase in the 141-year test history at the home of cricket. ___ AP cricket:
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
South Africa wrap up historic triumph over Australia in World Test Championship final
South Africa gleefully cast aside their unwanted tag of chokers on the global cricket stage as they completed a stunning turnaround in the World Test Championship final on Saturday and sealed a five-wicket victory over Australia. It is the first major title the Proteas have won in 27 years – their only other being the 1998 Champions Trophy. Resuming at a sun-dappled Lord's on 213 for two in their second innings and requiring just 69 runs for victory, Temba Bavuma's side comfortably got over the line on day four. However, seeking to guide his teammates to the required 282, a hobbling Bavuma, who had plugged away gamely despite sustaining a hamstring injury on Friday, departed early for 66, caught behind after edging a defensive dab off a Pat Cummins ball that was moving away from him. Advertisement Related: South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day four – live Tristan Stubbs then joined centurion Aiden Markram, who was picking his moments smartly in adding to his overnight 102. Twenty-five runs came from the opening hour of the day, the pair happy to plunder occasional singles to keep the target moving downwards. However, Mitchell Starc then bowled Stubbs, whose eight came from 43 watchful balls. This brought David Bedingham, who had top-scored for his side with 45 on Thursday, to the crease. With the new batter on four, Australia made their task harder as they burned their final review on a desperate lbw shout off Starc's bowling. Bedingham (21) then proceeded to pick up the pace as South Africa completed the victory before lunch. However, Markram was finally removed for 137 by a superb Travis Head catch off Josh Hazlewood with just six left to win, leaving Kyle Verreynne to knock off the winning run. Shortly before, he escaped a justified shout for caught behind after he gloved the ball from an attempted ramp shot for the glory moment. Advertisement The Proteas' win came despite their lineup only managing 138 in their first innings of a low-scoring final. That tally had left them with a first-innings deficit of 74 runs. However the pitch, which had offered plenty of encouragement for bowlers in the opening two days, calmed dramatically on day three, opening the door for the patient South African batters to seize the initiative. South Africa become the third side to win the tournament. New Zealand beat India to the inaugural edition in 2021, while Australia were the holders, having consigned the Indians to successive final defeats in 2023. Ali Martin's report from Lord's will follow shortly
