Big shots help Wie, Henderson set tone
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Michelle Wie launched a 3-wood into swirling gusts and toward the 18th green, wondering if the shot had enough steam to get there. A shift in the wind took the guesswork out of the equation.
“It died down, and I got a little surprise,” Wie said. “I got all the way there.”
The 215-yard shot rolled within 30 feet of the flag to set up a two-putt birdie and a 3-under 68 that left Wie two shots off the lead during the opening round Thursday in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She wasn’t the only long-hitter to benefit from windy conditions and a tough front nine at Olympia Fields Country Club.
Defending champ Brooke Henderson matched the 3-under start, which left her two back of Chella Choi and Amy Yang. Choi shot a 66 in the morning, and Yang was on the 18th hole at 5 under with a chance to grab the outright lead when play was suspended at 7:01 p.m. because of dangerous weather.
Brittany Altomare shot a 67, and Joanna Klatten also was 4 under with two holes left.
Joining Henderson and Wie at 68 were Alison Lee and Su Oh. Kim Kaufman and Emily Pedersen were also 3 under late in their rounds.
“I was able to carry a couple of fairway bunkers, which is huge, because not a lot of players are able to do that,” Henderson said.
Triplett ties senior record
Kirk Triplett shot an 8-under 62 in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open to match the lowest round in a PGA Tour Champions major.
Loren Roberts is the only other player to shoot a 62 in the tournament, setting the record in 2006 at Prairie Dunes in Kansas.
Triplett started on No. 10 on the 6,815-yard Salem Country Club course and played his first nine holes in 4 under. After making the turn, he birdied two of the first three holes, and then holed out a 9-iron from 120 yards to eagle the 341-yard, par-4 fourth hole.
He closed with five pars for a one-stroke lead over Olin Browne, who left himself short on a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the course in Peabody, Mass.
Lingmerth leads Quicken Loans
David Lingmerth is one of a few players in the Quicken Loans National field with any experience to draw on at TPC Potomac.
Lingmerth won a Web. com Tour event on the tight, tricky layout near Washington, D.C., in 2012. On Thursday, the Swede once again relied on his accuracy off the tee to shoot a 5-under 65 and take the first-round lead.
Troy Merritt, the winner two years ago at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, was a stroke back along with Marc Leishman, Johnson Wagner, Sung Kang, Nick Taylor and Daniel Summerhays.