BETHESDA, US: In Gee Chun is alone atop the Girls’s PGA Championship following a sensational begin.
In reality, no participant has ever been additional forward after 18 holes at a girls’s main.
Chun breezed to an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a five-stroke benefit after the primary spherical at Congressional. Whereas many of the discipline slogged by way of the day on the moist Blue Course, Chun birdied seven of eight holes throughout one stretch. She was seven photographs forward when she completed her spherical and ended up tying a report for the biggest 18-hole lead at a serious.
Mickey Wright led this match by 5 after the primary spherical in 1961.
“I don’t know what golf course In Gee is taking part in,” defending champion Nelly Korda stated after ending her spherical of 71.
Chun was taking part in the identical course as everybody else — one which went by way of a full restoration final 12 months. There was heavy rain within the space in a single day and extra precipitation throughout play Thursday morning. That softened the course but in addition made Congressional’s size — 6,809 yards for this primary spherical — extra of an element.
No large deal for Chun, a two-time main winner.
“The course, after a whole lot of rain, feels longer,” the 27-year-old South Korean stated. “On the similar time, greens have been softer. So I believe it was only a stability.”
Though there was loads of golf left to play, Chun’s large lead definitely turned heads.
“I can’t cease staring on the leaderboard,” Justin Thomas tweeted. “Main by 7 midway through day 1!!!!”
Pornanong Phatlum and Hye-Jin Choi shot bogey-free rounds of 69 to chop Chun’s result in 5, however that was nonetheless a sufficiently big benefit to tie Wright’s mark. The 1961 match was one in all a report 4 victories by Wright at this occasion. Chun is attempting for her first.
Chun did set a serious championship report — for males or girls — when she received the Evian Championship in 2016 at 21 below. She additionally received the US Girls’s Open the earlier 12 months.
Paula Reto and Jennifer Chang have been at 2 below. Korda and taking part in companion Brooke Henderson have been a part of a nine-player group at 1 below. One instance of how difficult the course was: Korda hit driver, hybrid and 7-wood whereas making par on the 587-yard ninth gap.
“That’s the longest par 5 I’ve ever performed,” she stated. “I used to be completely satisfied to play the entrance 9 even.”
Chun, who began on the again 9, birdied Nos. 15, 16, 17 and 18. After a bogey on No. 1, she rebounded with three extra birdies in a row.
Chun hit all 14 fairways and stated she handed the time by discussing non-golf subjects with caddie Dean Herden.
“We speak in regards to the kiwis as a result of I like to eat kiwis on the course,” she stated. “It’s actually powerful to discover a good kiwi from the grocery store. Fortunately, we now have an excellent Korean grocery store close to right here, so I obtained an excellent gold kiwi from there.”
If Chun retains taking part in like this, she would possibly discover it straightforward to calm down on the course, however she’ll have a gifted group of challengers chasing her. Jennifer Kupcho, who received her first main on the Chevron Championship earlier this 12 months, was 1 below. Phatlum’s spectacular spherical included an ace on the 199-yard second.
Inbee Park, Lydia Ko and world No. 1 Jin Younger Ko all shot 72, one stoke higher than US Girls’s Open champ Minjee Lee.
In reality, if not for Chun, a whole lot of gamers might really feel fairly near the lead.
“I really feel like I performed rather well. The course is de facto laborious,” Kupcho stated. “I don’t actually understand how In Gee is 8 below proper now. That’s undoubtedly an outlier.”
NOTES: Emma Talley (78) completed whereas placing with a wedge after her putter was broken through the spherical. … Lizette Salas and Cristie Kerr each shot 80.
