LAW TAKES ADVANTAGE OF PERFECT DAY FOR A FIRST-ROUND 65
With the sun shining down on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bronte Law went bogey-free en route to a 65 during the first round of the IWiT Championship. Law, who hit every green in regulation, said it felt good to end the day with a couple of birdie chances.
“Well, the weather was perfect, the conditions were set up really well, so it was out there, for sure. I had plenty of chances and just kept going with the flow all day. Made a couple really nice putts and found myself birdieing the last two, which is nice,” she said.
Law comes to Indianapolis after an intense Solheim Cup across the pond in Scotland, where Team Europe defeated the United States in a nail-biting finish, 14.5-13.5. Lack of rest aside, the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course is familiar ground for the 24-year-old Englishwoman. Last year, Law put together four rounds in the 60s with only two bogeys and finished T12. She said it is easy to find momentum on this course when you find your groove early.
“I think there's plenty of birdie chances, so as long as you stay out of trouble, you can really get yourself a good round going,” said Law. “So just trying to hit the fairways, hit the greens, which I did a good job of today, and you can find yourself with a low one.”
YOKOMINE OPENS WITH HOT ROUND IN INDY
Sakura Yokomine did not know what to expect of herself coming into the Indy Women in Tech Championship. She decided to go into the tournament with a relaxed approach, and it worked to her advantage. The Japanese native recorded her lowest round of the 2019 season, a 7-under 65, to end the first day at Brickyard Crossing in a tie for second.
“This week, [she] just kind of start with no, like no thinking,” said Yokomine through a translator. “She was thinking like too much about mechanic, yeah. So she started from nothing and then like she was playing really well because she was putting well.”
Yokomine started strong, with five birdies in her first six holes. She ended bogey-free, only missing three greens all day. Yokomine, who is still searching for her first win on the LPGA Tour, said she still is not 100 percent satisfied and taking each shot as it comes.
“She's kind of thinking right now like she doesn't know like the goal, like what's her goal is,” said Yokomine. “Right now she's kind of like thinking what to do next, step by step.”
SOLHEIM CUP BUMP
Two weeks ago at the Solheim Cup, history was made. Three days of competition came down to the last group on the 18th hole, with Europe topping the U.S. for the first time since 2013. This week in Indianapolis, players from both the European and U.S. teams are still riding the momentum from the busy week in Scotland.
Following the opening round at the Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group1001, six 2019 Solheim Cup players are inside the top 15 led by Europe’s star rookie Bronte Law at 7-under par.
Team USA rookie Marina Alex got off to a hot start in Indianapolis with a 6-under 66, and said she was able to draw off her solid play in team competition and translate that into a good round on Thursday.
“I played well in Scotland,” said Alex, who went 1-1-2 in her Solheim Cup debut. “The conditions were so tough and different. Maybe didn't see as many birdies over there because it was just challenging, but I felt like I made some really nice putts there, whether they were for par or for birdie, whatever the case is. The format's a little different. So I felt like I was able to bring that here and knew that as long as I was hitting it pretty well, I was going to have a decent score.”
For most of the 2019 LPGA season, Jodi Ewart Shadoff was battling back problems. Prior to helping the European team win the Solheim Cup she underwent a minor surgery. Ewart Shadoff was pain free on Thursday as she fired a bogey-free 5-under par 67 and said she was feeling back to her old self after some much needed rest.
“I took a couple days off, Solheim is very tiring, and then I just got -- you know, I haven't been able to put in, you know, really good practice for a while because I've been going through a back injury, but now like I'm fully fit and finally being able to like practice, you know, like normal,” Ewart Shadoff said.
Ally McDonald, a 2019 Team USA rookie, hit every green on Thursday at Brickyard Crossing and shot a first-round 67. Afterwards, she echoed Ewart Shadoff’s sentiment that rest was a priority leading up to this week.
“I practiced a little bit just to get prepped with these last two tournaments before we start the Asia swing,” McDonald said. “So yeah, it was just I needed a couple days to kind of get recuperated after the long week, but I was excited to get back out and compete these last several events we have of the season.”
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 40 Mi Jung Hur (63)
- She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens, with 26 putts
- In 2019 she has made 15 cuts in 17 starts with four top-10 finishes including a win at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
- Her first-round 63 is her second-lowest career round; she has twice recorded rounds of 62 at the 2019 Kia Classic (third round) and the 2019 ASI Ladies Scottish Open (second round)
- She is competing in her second IWiT Championship; she missed the cut in 2017
- She has three career LPGA wins: 2009 Cambia Portland Classic, 2014 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and the 2019 ASI Ladies Scottish Open
- Went 112 starts between her victory at the 2014 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and the 2019 ASI Ladies Scottish Open
- Has one career victory on the Epson Tour
- Credits her father and watching Se Ri Pak win the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open, as most influencing her career
Rolex Ranking No. 25 Bronte Law (65)
- She hit 11 fairways and 18 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
- Law’s 65 ties her second-lowest round of her LPGA Tour career; she fired a career-low round of 64 in the third round of the 2017 IWiT Championship
- Law is in her third season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is a win at the 2019 Pure Silk Championship
- This is Law’s 20th event of the 2019 season; her best finish is a win at the Pure Silk Championship
- She is competing in her third IWiT Championship; she tied for 63rd in 2017 and tied for 12th in 2018
Rolex Rankings No. 154 Nanna Koerstz Madsen (65)
- She hit 9 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 26 putts
- Koerstz Madsen’s 65 ties her second-lowest round of her LPGA Tour career; she recorded a career-low round of 63 in the third round of the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
- Koerstz Madsen is in her second season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is second at the 2017 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open as a non-member
- This is Koerstz Madsen’s 19th event of the 2019 season; her best finish is a tie for 11th at the ShopRite LPGA Classic
- She is competing in her third IWiT Championship; she tied for 42nd in 2017 and missed the cut in 2018
Rolex Rankings No. 136 Sakura Yokomine (65)
- She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 26 putts
- Her first-round 65 is her lowest round of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her career-best round is a third-round 61 at the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic
- In 2019, she has made 13 of 19 cuts with a season-best T16 finish at the Meijer LPGA Classic
- Yokomine is a 2015 LPGA Tour rookie; her career-best finish is solo second at the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic
- She is making her third start at the IWiT Championship; she missed the cut in 2018 and 2017
QUICK HITS
- Sponsor invites and Indianapolis native amateurs Erica Shepherd and Annabelle Pancake recorded rounds of 70 and 76, respectively
- Pancake’s eagle on the par-4 16th was the only eagle recorded on the Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole
- Defending champion Sung Hyun Park recorded a 2-under par round of 70 on Thursday
- The top seven players on the leaderboard represent six different countries: Rep. of Korea, England, Japan, Denmark, Thailand and the U.S.
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