Latest news with #KimA-lim
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Former champ Kim A-lim in six-way tie for US Women's Open lead
Kim A-lim of South Korea chips onto the 18th green during the first round of the US Women's Open. PHOTO: AFP Former champ Kim A-lim in six-way tie for US Women's Open lead CHICAGO – Former champion Kim A-lim is keeping her focus, as she fired six birdies in a four-under 68 to headline a group of six tied atop the leaderboard after the first round of US Women's Open on May 29. Fellow South Korean Im Jin-hee, Japan's Rio Takeda, Americans Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin and Spanish LPGA rookie Julia Lopez Ramirez shared the lead, one stroke in front of another group of five players. Kim said she would not 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 US 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 US Women's Open to be held there. Noh, who holed out for an eagle at the 14th 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 at the third, finally getting to even par 72 with a birdie at the par-five 18th. Defending champion Yuka Saso's bid for a third US Open title in five seasons got off to a rocky start with a two-over 74. World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand opened with a three-over 75 while third-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand – whose resume includes three Major titles but no US Open – posted a one-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 US Open, it's all about patience. I'm striking it pretty well, so hopefully I can carry that into the next couple days.' In men's golf, Ben Griffin, fresh from his triumph in Texas last week, fired a seven-under 65 to grab a two-shot lead after the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Dublin, Ohio. He ended his round in superb style with three straight birdies which left him with a two-stroke advantage over fellow American Collin Morikawa. 'I was kind of building on what I kind of was doing last week, making a ton of birdies, staying aggressive,' Griffin said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Former champ Kim in six-way tie for US Women's Open lead
South Korean Kim A-lim plays a shot on the way to a share of the first-round lead in the US Women's Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin (Patrick McDermott) Former champion Kim A-lim fired six birdies in a four-under-par 68 to headline a group of six players tied atop a log-jammed leaderboard after the first round of the 80th US Women's Open on Thursday. Fellow South Korean Im Jin-hee, Japan's 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 on three-under-par 69. Advertisement 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 US 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 US Women's Open to be held there. Advertisement Noh, who holed out for an eagle at the 14th 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. - All about patience - World number one Nelly Korda was playing catchup after a bogey at the third, finally getting to even par 72 with a birdie at the par-five 18th. Defending champion Yuka Saso's bid for a third US Open title in five seasons got off to a rocky start with a two-over-par 74. World number two Jeeno Thitikul of Tailand opened with a three-over 75 while third-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand -- whose resume includes three major titles but no US Open -- posted a one-over 73. Advertisement "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 US 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 at the 10th and 11th. After a bogey at the 12th she added birdies at 16 and 17 and took the solo lead at five-under with birdie bombs at the first and third before giving a stroke back at 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 the 10th through the 14th. Advertisement Lopez Ramirez was also bogey-free, an impressive performance for the 22-year-old who came through qualifying to book her first US 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 eight, nine 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. bb/rcw
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
South Korea's Kim A-lim grabs LPGA lead in windy Singapore
South Korea's Kim A-lim defied windy conditions at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore to lead the HSBC Women's World Championship by one stroke from England's Charley Hull after Thursday's opening round. Australia's Minjee Lee, a two-time major winner with 10 LPGA titles, was among four players tied for third after carding matching 70s at the second event on the LPGA Asian swing. Kim, who won the LPGA season opener at the Tournament of Champions in Orlando earlier this month, traded five birdies against a lone bogey on the par-five 16th on a tricky opening day. "The wind was swirling a lot and it was hard to read," Kim said after her first-round 68. "But I have three more rounds to learn. The winds made it hard for me, but then again everybody is also in a situation which we cannot control. We are not AI!" Hull credited her strong iron play for posting a blemish-free 69. "I'm a good long iron player. I dug deep, stayed patient and got a few longer irons in, so that played into my game," she said. "I just felt like I played pretty solid. I had a good night's sleep and it was a lot cooler today." Lee was pleased to start strongly at a tournament where her best result came in 2019, when she finished runner-up. "The wind was a little trickier today. I don't think we ever played or practised in such strong conditions before," said the Australian. "I scrambled really well today and made a bunch of birdies and bogeys. "Hopefully I can get a little more consistent scoring come the next few days." Lee mixed her card with four birdies and two bogeys. Olympic champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand carded a 71 for a share of seventh place. Leading completed scores after the first round of the HSBC Women's World Championship: 68 – Kim A-lim (KOR) 69 – Charley Hull (ENG) 70 – Minjee Lee (AUS), Yin Ruoning (CHN), Choi Hye-jin (KOR), Gaby Lopez (MEX) 71 – Lydia Ko (NZL), Jeeno Thitikul (THA), Carlota Ciganda (ESP), Hinako Shibuno (JPN), Ayaka Furue (JPN), Amy Yang (KOR), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (DNK) str/pst
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kim opens up four-stroke lead in LPGA's season opener
South Korea's Kim A-lim opened up a four-shot lead after producing a dream start in the first round of the LPGA's season-opening Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida on Thursday. The event, at Lake Buena Vista, is limited to winners of LPGA Tour events in the past two years but Kim left the likes of Nelly Korda, winner of seven events last season, in her wake with a blistering 7-under par, bogey-free round. Another South Korean, Ko Jin-young, and Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit were tied for second after shooting 3-under rounds of 69. Kim said she had used most of the off-season for physical training, taking time away from technical work and that approach seemed to have worked. "In January I focused on my body, not practising but today really surprised me," she said. "My shot was good, putting was good, everything was good, it was cool," she added, after finishing her round with three birdies on her final five holes. The year's first tournament features the LPGA field playing alongside celebrities, athletes and amateurs. Among the stars playing in the event were former NFL player Marcus Allen, ex-NBA champion Ray Allen and ex-USA national team footballer Landon Donovan. Ireland's Leona Maguire was one of 10 players sitting five strokes behind Kim after a 2-under round of 70 ended with a bogey on her final hole -- the ninth. "I took advantage of the par-5s today apart from nine. Working on a few things. Obviously still fine tuning. It's nice to get a test here to see where the game is at," she said. "I drove the ball pretty well today, which I didn't quite do well enough last year. Made a bit of progress on that. Holed a few nice putts. "Overall it's pretty good. Not too rusty. I would say chipping was a little bit rusty today at times. Not bad for the first round of the year." sev/js
