Despite an overcast day in Michigan, Lexi Thompson, Laura Davies, Carlota Ciganda, Paula Reto, and Sei Young Kim showed that tougher course conditions were no match for them. Each fired a 6-under-par 65 for a five-way tie to share the first-round lead at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give at Blythefield Country Club.
Thompson, Davies, and Ciganda jumped out into the lead after the morning wave, but Reto and Kim, in the afternoon wave, birdie their final holes to join them atop the leaderboard.
After only hitting six of 13 fairways, Thompson recovered by hitting all 18 greens. Her stellar iron play gave her some great looks on the green, and she capitalized only needing 31 putts to complete the round.
“I didn't really change anything, I just made sure I stayed positive. I was hitting it well on my first nine, I two‑putted every hole on the first nine so I just had to be patient with it. Then ended up holing out for eagle on my 10th hole, on No. 1 today, so that always helps with the putts.”
Ciganda knows there is still a lot of golf to be played, but is off to a good start with a bogey-free round in just her first appearance at the Meijer LPGA Classic to share the early lead.
“Obviously it's really good. Start with a 6-under, it's always good. But I just want to focus on tomorrow, just go day by day, shot by shot and just stay in the present. This is very long. I mean, great players out there and just play my game and just enjoy.”
Tour veteran, Davies, can still compete with the newest generation of the LPGA stars and hold a share of the first-round lead.
“It's fun for me. I loved watching that playoff last week; two really great young players, such happy‑go‑lucky characters as well, it's good for the game. But there's room for the likes of myself and Juli Inkster and a few of the other old girls to show what we can still do because we all hit it well, it's just the short game separates the top players from the ones that are just struggling a little bit sometimes.”
Reto started the round on the back nine and made a bogey on her first hole, but came back strong with four consecutive birdies to make the turn at 31. Her final birdie on the day was an 18-foot putt on 18 to join the early round leaders at the 6-under.
“You know what, not really,” Reto on checking the leaderboard. “I think I saw the leaderboard after my first nine, which is the back nine, and I just sort of looked at it. I’m like oh, okay, I’m somewhere there in the middle or top middle, and I was like okay, I’m just going to keep playing. From there on in I just kept playing my game. I wasn’t sure what really was leading; I thought maybe there could have been a 7 or 8 under today, but I just sort of stick to my own game.”
Kim had a hot putter during the round, only needing 25 putts to finish 6-under par, finishing birdie, birdie on the final two holes to take a share of the lead in the opening round.
She does her best to avoid looking the leaderboard during her rounds, but it’s not always that easy.
“I didn't see that, yeah. That not help me, so I just focus on the step by step, yeah,” explained Kim. “Last couple tournament after I saw the…read the board and I play no good, so I try to, yeah, not going to see anymore. Yeah, right. It's too hard. And I see, look around, if I miss the…see the scoreboard and then oh, my gosh, I saw that. I talk with Paul, Paul; I saw the leaderboard, what am I doing? So yeah, getting better.”
Thompson, Davies, Ciganda, Reto and Kim hold a one-stroke lead ahead of a group at five under par which included Q Baek, In Gee Chun, So Yeon Ryu, Jaclyn Jansen, Alena Sharp, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Amelia Lewis.
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