Jutanugarn sisters in the mix as leaderboard gets crowded
>> WILLIAMSBURG: Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn shot a five-under-par 66 to stay one shot off the lead, shared by five players, in the first round of the Kingsmill Championship on Thursday.
Ariya, who won the tournament in 2016, was joint sixth with Japan’s Nasa Hataoka, who made a hole-inone on the 17th hole, at Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.
American Jessica Korda fired a 65 to grab a share of the lead with four others.
Korda, who teed off in the morning session, took advantage of calmer conditions and sat atop the leaderboard with Spain’s Azahara Munoz, Americans Annie Park and Jaye Marie Green, and South Korea’s Chun In-Gee.
It rained off and on for much of Thursday and weather forecasters were predicting poorer weather over the next few days.
Ariya’s sister Moriya Jutanugarn, who claimed her maiden victory at the LA Open last month, hit a 68 — three shots off the pace.
“I felt good,” said Korda, who has finished in the top 10 six times this season and has finished no worse than tied for 26th overall.
Korda is still recovering from offseason jaw surgery that included using 27 screws to fix a problem that was giving her frequent headaches.
Despite the lengthy rehab, she managed to win in her first start of the year in Thailand and if she is victorious this week, Korda would become the first two-time winner on the tour so far this season.