Jennifer Kupcho made a powerful begin to golf’s second ladies’s main of the 12 months as she leads the US Ladies’s Open by one shot after the primary spherical on Thursday.
The 29-year-old American fired a five-under 66 at Riviera Nation Membership in Los Angeles to steer from South Korea’s Kim Sei-Younger.
Kupcho stated that took “somewhat little bit of a weight off my chest” after lacking the lower at this occasion up to now three years.
Kupcho, whose only previous major title got here on the Chevron Championship in 2022, opened with three straight birdies and completed with seven total, together with two bogeys.
“It is type of a ball-striker’s paradise – simply hit it down the golf green, hit it on the inexperienced and make the putts,” she stated.
“I used to be hitting the ball nicely right this moment, additionally rolling the ball rather well with the putter, so [that] undoubtedly helped with the boldness with my putter.”
Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and one-time main winner Hinako Shibuno, of Japan, are amongst a gaggle of 5 which can be tied for third place, two pictures off the lead.
World primary Nelly Korda, who won the year’s opening major in April, was somewhat off the tempo with a spherical of 73.
“I simply felt like I used to be grinding to make secure pars,” stated the American. “It wasn’t an incredible day. I’ve truthfully no thought the place this got here from.”
She was joined on two-over by world quantity two Atthaya Thitikul and the English quintet of Charley Hull, Mimi Rhodes, Bronte Legislation, Lottie Woad and Nellie Ong.
The occasion is going down on the Los Angeles course that hosts the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational and would be the golf venue for the 2028 Olympics.
