Hedwall two back at U.S. Women’s Open
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — South Korea’s Ha-Neul Kim upstaged friend Inbee Park to take the firstround lead at her first U.S. Women’s Open.
Kim shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 on Thursday at Sebonack to lead Park by a stroke. The top-ranked Park is trying to make history by winning the first three majors of the year.
Currently a member of the KLPGA Tour, Kim is a seven-time winner in South Korea. She kept giving herself short birdie putts and making them.
Kim birdied her secondto-last hole with daylight waning to claim the lead after Park held it for most of the day with her 67 in the morning session.
No player has won the first three majors in a season with at least four majors. The 2008 U.S. Women’s Open champion, Park has already won five times this year.
American Lizette Salas, former Oklahoma State golfer Caroline Hedwall of Sweden, Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and South Korea’s I.K. Kim shot 68.
Second-ranked Stacy Lewis opened with a 71, and 16-year-old amateur star Lydia Ko shot 72.
Castro leads early at AT&T National
Roberto Castro took the first-round lead in the AT&T National at Congressional in Bethesda, Md., shooting a 5-under 66 on the difficult course that has hosted three U.S. Opens.
Winless on the PGA Tour, Castro made three straight birdies late in his round with a 20-foot putt, a perfect 3-wood into a par 5 and a chip-in.
Only a dozen players shot in the 60s and the average score was just over 73, despite cloud cover for most of the day leading to soft conditions and only a light wind.
Huston on top at Fox Chapel
John Huston shot a 5under 65 to take the firstround lead in the Senior Players Championship, the third of the Champions Tour’s five majors.
Huston started on No. 10 and was even par halfway through his round before making a big move on the front nine at soggy Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh. The 52-year-old Huston missed three months this season because of lower back problems.
Fred Couples, Duffy Waldorf, Fred Funk and Russ Cochran were a stroke back. Colin Montgomerie had a 69 in his Champions Tour debut. The start of play was delayed nearly five hours because of heavy rain.
McIlroy struggles on Day 1
Saying he’s “feeling a bit lost” in a difficult year, Rory McIlroy shot a 2-over 74 in the Irish Open to fall eight strokes behind firstround leader Oscar Floren.
The second-ranked McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, had four bogeys and two birdies in wet and overcast conditions at Carton House in Maynooth, Ireland. Floren, from Sweden, had a 6-under 66.
American Peter Uihlein, a former OSU golfer, was a stroke back along with Dutchman Joost Luiten, France’s Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey and Ireland’s Shane Lowry.