Kang makes solid start in bid for three in a row
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Danielle Kang started her bid for a third straight win on the LPGA tour with an even-par 71 in the first round of the Ladies Scottish Open on Thursday, leaving the American four shots off the clubhouse lead held by Nicole Broch Larsen.
The American golfer bounced back from bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 by making birdie at the par-5 10th and then the last hole at an event that is being played without spectators and in an isolated environment at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
Kang has made a fast start to the LPGA’s resumption following the coronavirus outbreak, winning back-toback titles at the Drive On Championship and the Marathon Classic over the last two weeks to climb to No. 2 in the world ranking.
Broch Larsen made six birdies in total, including on the final two holes, for a 65 that put her a stroke clear of five players. One of those tied for second was Broch Larsen’s Danish compatriot, Emily Kristine Pedersen, along with American pair Amy Olson and Jennifer Song, Azahara Munoz of Spain and Olivia Cowan of Germany.
Of the 144 women in the field, 27 had yet to complete their round when play was suspended because of darkness.
It is the first international event on the tour since the Women’s Australian Open in February.
If Kang takes the title this weekend, she would become the first player since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 to win three consecutive events on the tour.
PGA Tour Champions: Steve Stricker birdied the final hole for a 2under 68 and a share of the lead Thursday in Akron, Ohio, in the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, the tour’s first major of the season.
“Didn’t hit it all that good, though. I scraped it around, got it up-and-down a lot,” Stricker said. “But a good score certainly.”
Jerry Kelly, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Wes Short Jr. and Rod Pampling joined Stricker atop the leaderboard on Firestone Country Club’s South Course, the longtime site of a PGA Tour event and later a World Golf Championship tournament.
“I have fond memory here,” Jimenez said. “I played many, many times WGC tournament here on this golf course. … The golf course is fast and is a nice way to play the golf course.”
Stricker had three birdies and a bogey.
“You’re rewarded when you hit good shots and you’re not when you hit bad ones,” the U.S. Ryder Cup captain said. “So it’s a fair course right in front of you.”
Paul Broadhurst was the only other player to break par, shooting 69.
Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer were at 70 with Duffy Waldorf, Robert Karlsson and Kenny Perry.
Ernie Els topped the group at 71. Charles Schwab Cup leader Brett Quigley and Vijay Singh shot 73, and defending champion Retief Goosen opened with a 75.
European Tour: Alexander Levy became the first golfer to test positive for the coronavirus at a European Tour event and was one of two French players withdrawn on the opening day of the Celtic Classic on Thursday in Newport, Wales.
Thomas Pieters shot 7-under 64 in his first competitive round in five months to take the lead on the latest stop of the tour’s six-week U.K. Swing, but the bigger talking point came off the course.
Levy came into contact last weekend with a friend in France who has since tested positive for the coronavirus, the tour said in a statement. When Levy arrived at Welsh tournament venue Celtic Manor Resort, he tested negative. He was told to self-isolate for 14 days and has since returned a positive result in a retest.
Hours later, officials said Romain Wattel had been identified as having had contact with Levy and had to withdraw because of local health guidelines.