Kang ‘stays in the moment’ to lead, Moriya trails leader by 5 while Ariya stands last
>> FLORIDA: American Danielle Kang birdied six of the first 10 holes on her way to an eight-under-par 63 opening round to seize a twostroke lead on Thursday at the season-opening LPGA Tournament of Champions.
Moriya Jutanugarn and Jasmine Suwannapura shot 68s to stay five strokes off the pace.
But Ariya Jutanugarn, the other Thai in the tournament, soared to a 75 and was last.
Kang, whose parents are from South Korea, qualified for the select 26-player field by winning the 2018 and 2019 LPGA Shanghai titles.
Her only other LPGA victory came in a major at the 2017 Women’s PGA Championship.
With nine birdies in all at against a lone bogey at Four Seasons in Orlando, Kang opened a gap over South Korea’s Park In-Bee, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and American Angela Stanford, who shared second on 65 with bogey-free first rounds.
“I had a lot of fun today,” Kang said. “I hit pretty good drives out there. My wedges were good. I putted well. Saved the shots I needed to save. I had a good first round.
“Staying in the moment and staying in every single shot really mattered a lot for me today.”
Defending Olympic champion Park is trying to rise in the rankings by June in order to qualify for South Korea’s 2020 Tokyo Olympic team and have a chance to defend the gold medal she captured in Rio.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
(par-71, USA unless noted)
63 — Danielle Kang
65 — Gaby Lopez (MEX), Angela Stanford, Park In-Bee (KOR)
66 — Celine Boutier (FRA), Lexi Thompson, Kim Sei-Young (KOR), Marina Alex, Nasa Hataoka (JPN)
67 — Brooke Henderson (CAN)
Selected scores
68 — Moriya Jutanugarn (THA), Jasmine Suwannapura (THA), Annie Park, Amy Yang (KOR) 75 — Ariya Jutanugarn (THA)