Catrin Nilsmark fired a four-under 67 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the LPGA Legends Championship at Harrison Lakes Country Club.

Nilsmark got her round off to a fast start with a birdie on the opening hole, but her momentum was slowed by bogeys on holes 5 and 8. It was the back nine, however, where the 58-year-old made her move up the leaderboard. She proceeded to card five birdies after the turn, closing with a five-under 31 to take the outright lead. She began her birdie run with a four on the par-4 10th before adding birdies on both par-5s (Nos. 11 and 18) and both par 3s (Nos. 13 and 17).

She credits her iron play and lack of driver use as keys to her success in the first round.

“I was hitting my irons really well, and I'm not too friendly with my driver at the moment, so I was hitting a lot of five woods off the tees, which the past couple of days was a good strategy,” said Nilsmark. “Today, with the course being super wet, I actually had some long second shots in. But, you know, hitting my irons well, then it worked out really well anyways.”

She enters the second round with an early opportunity to claim her first LPGA Legends Championship title. Her previous best finish at the event is T8 in 2022 when the championship was held at Salina Country Club in Salina, Kansas.

A former LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour winner, Nilsmark is perhaps best known for her participation in the Solheim Cup. She was the captain of the European Solheim Cup Teams in 2003 and 2005, famously leading Europe to victory in 2003 while on crutches after suffering a ruptured disk in her back. Prior to her captaincy, Nilsmark was a member of five European Solheim Cup Teams from 1992-2000.

Maria McBride sits one shot back after a three-under 68, while Angela Stanford and Becky Morgan are T3 after shooting rounds of 69. Both are familiar names atop the leaderboard at the LPGA Legends Championship, with Stanford winning the event in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024, while Morgan was runner-up to Trish Johnson in 2021.

Defending champion Cristie Kerr sits at T8 after opening with a one-under 71. Johnson, a two-time champion of the event, provided one of Thursday’s highlights when she recorded a hole-in-one on No. 2 from 100 yards.

With inclement weather lingering in the area throughout the remainder of the championship, players will continue to navigate the course and changing conditions as they head into the final two rounds of the LPGA Legends Championship.

Nilsmark Opens with a Four-Under 67 at the LPGA Legends Championship

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