Field Level Media
05 Aug 2022, 05:19 GMT+10
Hinako Shibuno of Japan carded a 6-under-par 65 to seize a one-stroke lead at the AIG Women's Open on Thursday in Gullane, Scotland.
Shibuno, the 2019 Women's Open champion, birdied her first three holes and finished with eight against two bogeys on a breezy day at historic Muirfield.
The 23-year-old is off to a fast start after three missed cuts and a withdrawal in her last four starts on the LPGA Tour.
"It has been a long time since I've played this well, especially putting. Honestly it was a little frightening," Shibuno said.
Jessica Korda overcame a bogey on the second hole to register four birdies and an eagle on the 17th to reside in second place at 5-under.
Korda admitted that she is not even looking at the leaderboard. Instead, she did have good news about the whereabouts of her suitcase that was lost on her flight over to Scotland.
"I know where it is. I have an air tag on it," Korda said. "I just can't get anyone to actually go get it."
Gaby Lopez of Mexico and Louise Duncan of Scotland sit one stroke back in a tie for third place. Duncan, the 2021 Women's Amateur champion, made her professional debut last week at the Scottish Open.
"It was worth the 4:30 (a.m.) alarm," said Duncan, part of the first pairing off the tee Thursday morning. "I'm glad it's over with and I played well.
"I got a with wee bit down on myself last week. It was obvious. My head was down. I just wasn't in a good mood, to be honest. But yeah, today was in a good mood and played well."
Frenchwoman Celine Boutier resides in a five-way tie at 3-under with England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Australian Minjee Lee, South Korean In Gee Chun and Sweden's Maja Stark.
Canada's Brooke Henderson, who won the recent Evian Championship, recorded a bogey on her last hole to fall to a 13-way tie at 1-under. Despite her late misstep, Henderson is keeping positive ahead of the second round.
"The back nine just made a lot of like 6-footers to kind of just keep the momentum going forward. Hopefully tomorrow just go out and make an early birdie and makeup for today," Henderson said.
"But it's really tough out there, so I think if we can just play steady the rest of the week, it will be good."
Defending champion Anna Nordqvist recorded three of her four bogeys on the back nine to finds herself in a tie for 75th place at 3-over.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Scotland Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Scotland Star.
More InformationLONDON, UK: This week, the Global Financial Centers index showed that New York remains the world's leading financial center, with ...
LONDON, UK: In August, global production of primary aluminum hit an all-time high, with production running at an annualized rate ...
LONDON, UK: This week, Adidas' newest running shoes, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, went on sale for US$500. Worn ...
Of the many "profound risks to society and humanity" that have tech experts worried about artificial intelligence (AI), the spread ...
New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar attended a prayer meeting organised on ...
London [UK], October 2 (ANI): Khalistan supporters gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London to stage a protest on ...
NEW LONDON, Connecticut: Video footage taken deep in the Pacific Ocean provided the first detailed view of three World War ...
CUSTER STATE PARK, South Dakota: As part of an annual effort to maintain the health of the species, which has ...
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan: Uzbek authorities said a powerful explosion on September 28 at a warehouse near Tashkent's airport killed one person ...
TALLAHASSEE, Florida: The Florida Lottery said this week that the second-largest lottery winner in U.S. history has come forward to ...
LONDON, UK: This week, the Global Financial Centers index showed that New York remains the world's leading financial center, with ...
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan: In a significant milestone for its defense capabilities, Taiwan has unveiled its first domestically developed submarine. Although it ...