Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan makes solid start at US Women’s Open; Taichi Kho cards one-over at International Series England
- Japanese-American Mina Harigae fires stunning 7-under 64 to miss out on tournament record by one shot at Pine Needles
- Taiwan’s Chang Wei-lun upstages stellar field to take early lead at Asian Tour event
Japanese-American Mina Harigae fired a stunning seven-under-par 64 to seize a one-stroke lead over Swedish amateur Ingrid Lindblad after Thursday’s opening round of the 77th US Women’s Open.
Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan, meanwhile, started her tournament with a one-over 72. Starting on the 10th, Chan put herself behind early with consecutive bogeys at 12 and 13, before a birdie at 1 reduced the damage.
Harigae made nine birdies against two bogeys to finish one off the tournament record after Lindblad led much of the day at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
“I was confident that as long as I could hit it where I needed to then it would be a pretty good day,” Harigae said. “But I didn’t think it would be this good of a day.”
The 32-year-old American, whose parents are from Japan, was one off the US Women’s Open 18-hole record of 63 by Helen Alfredsson from 1994.
Lindblad, a 22-year-old stand-out for Louisiana State University, shot the lowest score by an amateur in tournament history. She needed only 26 putts.
“I hit a few shots close to the pin, and then my putting was great,” she said. “Made a few par saves and made a few putts for birdies. It just worked from fairway to green.”