PORTHCAWL, Wales — When Alexa Pano woke up on Sunday morning, she had a good feeling.

Having missed the cut at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, Pano came to Royal Porthcawl Golf Club a few days earlier than she originally might have planned to so she could begin preparing for the AIG Women’s Open. And after what has been an up-and-down 2025 season for the 20-year-old, one that has seen her post a handful of scores that were much higher than she would have liked, the positive energy that began to percolate in Pano’s psyche upon her arrival in Wales felt like a breath of fresh air for the LPGA Tour winner.

Whatever she found mentally translated to Pano’s physical game in round one of the year’s final major championship, as the Epson Tour alum posted a 3-under 69 to kick off her week, making three bogeys, four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 9th hole, what was the highlight of her first round on Thursday.

She started quietly with three pars before riding the birdie-bogey-birdie rollercoaster on holes four, five and six to move to 1-under and then picked up that eagle on nine to make the turn in 33. Pano landed a punch on the 10th hole with a birdie, but Porthcawl hit back, and Pano bogeyed the par-4 11th hole.

The young talent then made pars on her next five holes, dropping her third shot of the round on the par-4 17th hole to slip back to 2-under on the day, but Pano recovered with a birdie on the closing par 5 to finish with a 69, what’s just the second sub-70 score she has recorded in her last three starts on the LPGA Tour and first since day two of The Amundi Evian Championship.

“Any time you have the opportunity to play in a major championship, it kind of gets you excited,” Pano said following the first round at Royal Porthcawl. “Definitely was feeling a lot better about this week. Just got to keep grinding at it. You never know how close you are. When things are tough, my dad always says, ‘You're not as far away as you think you are,’ and when things are good, ‘You're not always as good as you think you are.’”

Pano has teed it up in just one previous edition of the AIG Women’s Open since joining the LPGA in 2023, tying for 10th in her tournament debut at the Old Course at St Andrews last year. But her affinity for links-style golf existed well before that first AIG appearance as Pano’s lone victory on the LPGA Tour came in August 2023 at the ISPS Handa World Invitational. The now-defunct tournament was annually contested in Northern Ireland, and Pano won on what was then her 19th birthday in a playoff over Esther Henseleit and Gabriella Cowley that year to become a Rolex First-Time Winner.

This is her 18th event of the 2025 season, and in her 17 previous starts, Pano only has one top-20 result on her resume – a tie for 18th that came at the Dow Championship alongside her playing partner, Dani Holmqvist. She has made the cut in just one of the three majors in which she has played this year, but Pano wasn’t able to make any sort of impactful move on the weekend at The Chevron Championship, ultimately tying for 67th at The Club at Carlton Woods.

So, getting off a fast start in what’s often considered to be one of the year’s most difficult major tests to put herself within shouting distance of the top of the leaderboard early in Wales has bolstered Pano’s confidence with three rounds remaining at the AIG Women’s Open.

“I've had a lot of talks recently with some people. The thing is that I'm trying to be better than I was before, not getting back to anything,” Pano said. “For me, I was just trying to take it every shot at a time. I know my game's there, and I just had to stay focused on what was in front of me. That was a big thing for me is just trying to hit every shot to the best of my capabilities out there. What links golf gives you is what you take.”

With a late draw on deck on Friday and the promise of windier conditions in the afternoon, Pano has already begun to mentally prepare for the challenge that awaits her in round two. But with a refreshed perspective derived from her opening 69 and a solid game plan in place when it comes to tackling Royal Porthcawl, Pano is ready to press on and continue climbing the leaderboard at the AIG Women’s Open.

“I think I definitely got to play in some wind there at the end, which was nice. I think it's good prep for (the second round),” Pano said. “Definitely learned a lot about how the course is playing and different shots that I'm going to use out there. So, I feel like it was a good first round and also good learning in the wind out there.”

Alexa Pano Posts 69 to Pull Into Position on Day One of AIG Women’s Open

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