BELMONT, Mich. (AP) — Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea played a six-hole stretch in 6 under and shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic.
Grace Kim of Australia was a shot back, a year after losing to Lilia Vu in a playoff that also included 2015 champion Lexi Thompson.
Fellow Australian Karis Davidson, Akie Iwai of Japan and Sofia Garcia of Paraguay were two strokes behind at 66 in the final event before the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship next week in Texas.
Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., opened with a 68. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 69 and Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., opened with a 71.
Only three of the top 10 in the world are at Blythefield County Club, with Haeran Ryu the highest-ranked player at No. 5. She shot a 69 in the afternoon.
Playing in the morning on the tree-lined course, Lee birdied Nos. 5-8, parred the ninth and eagled the 10th after surprising herself by reaching the green in two on the par-5 hole.
“I didn’t expect I can hit the green there for my second shot," Lee said. “But it was a great line and good hit with the 3-wood and I made the green. It was almost 24 feet, like right-to left-eagle putt. I didn’t expect to make it.”
The 32-year-old player capped the bogey-free round with birdies on Nos. 14 and 17. She won the last of her two LPGA Tour titles in 2017.
“I missed only two fairways," Lee said. “I think that’s a lot of help to hit the greens a lot, too.”
Kim chipped in for eagle on 10 and for birdie on 11 in her morning round.
“That was a good start to the back nine,” Kim said. “Just kind of saved pars early and then loosened up as we went on. That was quite nice.”
She won the 2023 LOTTE Championship for her lone tour title.
The 22-year-old Iwai made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch from the eighth to the 14th, then rebounded from a bogey on 17 with a birdie on 18.
Her twin sister, Chisato won in Mexico in May for her first LPGA Tour title. Chisato Iwai opened with a 73.
Minjee Lee was at 67 with Caley McGinty, Ruixin Liu, Andrea Lee, Gabriela Ruffels and Jiwon Jeon. Andrea Lee was the only U.S. player in the top 11.
Thompson shot a 68. Vu had a 77.
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The Associated Press
