Mirim Lee shoots 10-under 62 to tie Women’s British Open

WOBURN, ENGLAND » Mirim Lee shot a 10-under 62 on Thursday to match the Women’S British Open record and open a three-stroke lead in the major championship at tree-lined Woburn Golf Club.

Three weeks after shooting a 64 in the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open, the 25-year-old South Korean player made the last of her 10 birdies on the par-3 17th and closed with a par.

Lee fell a stroke short of the LPGA Tour major record of 61 set by Hyo Joo Kim in the first round of the 2014 Evian Championship. Minea Blomqvist shot a 62 in the third round of the 2004 Women’s British Open at Sunningdale, and Lorena Ochoa had a 62 in first round of the 2006 Kraft Nabisco. Lee also matched her official LPGA Tour career low set in the second round of the 2014 LPGA Taiwan.

“I’ve shot 11 under before,” Lee said. “It was back in, I think, second round of LPGA Q-School, final stage. Just so happens my caddie at the time (John Kileen) was my caddie today.”

Ariya Jutanugarn was second a bogey-free 65.

“I love this course,” said Jutanugarn, the long-hitting Thai player won three straight events in May.

China’s Shanshan Feng had a 66, and American Stacy Lewis and South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee shot 67.

Lee birdied the first two holes, added another on the fourth and made five straight on Nos. 7-11 to reach 8 under. She also birdied the par-3 13th on the Marquess Course, the forest layout that is a big change from the seaside links that dominate the tournament rotation.

“When you normally think of British Open, you think of high roughs, difficult roughs,” Lee said. “But here it feels more like California, so I think that really made me feel comfortable.”

In California at CordeValle in the U.S. Women’s Open, she followed her opening 64 with rounds of 74, 76 and 73 to tie for 11th. She missed the cut in the ANA Inspiration to start the major year, and tied for fourth in the KPMG Women’s PGA.

“I think the difference is that now I’m trying to have fun,” Lee said. “I’m trying to enjoy it, whereas in the beginning of the year, things weren’t really going well for me, so I really put a lot of work into it and I think it’s just natural that it’s showing, the hard work is showing now.” after