Rio Takeda in six-way tie for lead after first round of U.S. Women's Open
Former champion Kim A-lim fired six birdies in a 4-under-par 68 to headline a group of six players tied atop a log-jammed leaderboard after the first round of the 80th U.S. Women's Open on Thursday.
Fellow South Korean Im Jin-hee, Rio Takeda, Americans Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin and Spanish LPGA rookie Julia Lopez Ramirez shared the lead, one stroke in front of a group of five players tied at 3-under.
Another seven players were two adrift, but Kim said she wouldn't expend her energy worrying about who might be in striking distance.
"Honestly, I'm not thinking about (the) leaderboard because my job is process, not result," said Kim, who won the 2020 U.S. Open in her major championship debut.
"Next three days, I play the same thing as today: focus on my line, hit it. That's all."
With little wind, Erin Hills, the rolling 6,829-yard par-72 layout in Erin, Wisconsin, offered perhaps its most benign face for the first round of the first U.S. Women's Open to be held there.
Noh, who holed out for an eagle on the 14th hole and birdied the par-five 18th, called it a "good scoring day."
But plenty of marquee names were unable to join the 33 players to shoot under par.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda was playing catchup after a bogey on the third hole, finally getting to even par 72 with a birdie on the par-5 18th.
Defending champion Yuka Saso's bid for a third U.S. Open title in five seasons got off to a rocky start with a 2-over-par 74.
World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand opened with a 3-over 75 while third-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand — whose resume includes three major titles but no U.S. Open — posted a 1-over 73.
"I think I'm happy with it," Korda said. "Obviously, I wish the ball found the bottom of the cup a little bit more.
"First day of the U.S. Open, it's all about patience. I'm striking it pretty well, so hopefully I can carry that into the next couple days."
While Korda struggled to get things going, Kim opened with back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes.
After a bogey on No. 12, she added birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 and took the solo lead at 5-under with birdie bombs on the first and third holes before giving a stroke back on the sixth.
Takeda had three birdies and one bogey on each side, while Im opened with nine straight pars and had all four of her birdies in a five-hole span from Nos. 10 to 14.
Lopez Ramirez was also bogey-free, an impressive performance for the 22-year-old who came through qualifying to book her first U.S. Open appearance.
"Honestly it's been my first bogey-free round since I turned pro, so it's quite exciting," said the Spaniard, whose season was disrupted by an appendectomy in March.
Lopez Ramirez and Yin were among the afternoon starters, Yin shaking off an early bogey with five birdies — including three in a row at Nos. 8, 9, and 10 — before a setback at 17.
In the right rough off the tee she came up short of the green, then saw her third shot spin off into a collection area, from where she managed to salvage a bogey.
"This is what this course can do," said Yin, who regained a share of the lead with a birdie at the last.
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