After 18 holes at the AIG Women’s Open, Japan’s Rio Takeda and Eri Okayama share the lead going into day two. It was a successful day for Japanese golfers, with six players near the top of the leaderboard.
Takeda started her round with birdies on her first two holes, but proceeded to double-bogey the par-5 9th. However, she recovered with four birdies on the back nine to get to 5-under for the day. She had this to say after her first round.
“I played really well today,” she said. “But it’s only the first day and you never know what’s going to happen on this course, so I’d like to do my best tomorrow.”
Okayama started her day with a bogey on the first hole but fired five bogeys in her next eight holes. A birdie on 17 propelled her into a tie for the lead at 5-under par.
“My tee shots were pretty good today so I was able to play without any major issues,” Okayama said. “It was fun. I made one or two long putts, both about 5 meters long, and had quite a few chances to get within 2 meters.”
Although the conditions during the round were windy, 50 players managed to break par. Nelly Korda is in a position to make a push in the next few days after her round of 70 (-2). Her short game was on display in the first round, having hit five fairways and twelve greens. Minjee Lee, who is looking for the career grand slam this week, is at 2-under for the tournament after her round of 70. The winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship made five birdies in her round.
Lottie Woad finished her round with a score of 72 (E) for the day. She tees off at 3:09 ET on Friday.
