Laetitia Beck took the first-round lead at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Prattville, Alabama, dodging some of the wind on Thursday morning for a bogey-free seven-under 65.
The 24-year-old, the first Israeli player to qualify for the LPGA Tour, was in the first group of the day off the 10th tee. She birdied four of the final five holes on her opening nine in calmer conditions and had three more — two on par-fives — on the windier second nine.
“I think the winds picked up for us only like the last five, six holes, so we played the front nine without much wind,” Beck said. “That front nine was four-under, so it really helped.”
Photo: AFP
Annie Park of the US and Australia’s Minjee Lee were tied for second on 67. They played in the afternoon.
Beck hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, and had only 26 putts on the links-style Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex.
“I think here on this golf course it’s all putting, because it’s a very scoreable course,” Beck said. “Hitting a lot of greens, hit the right part of the green, and I think I was doing well making putts, even though I did miss birdie opportunities, but I made good putts for birdies.”
Photo: AFP
Normally held in the hotter and firmer conditions of late summer, the tournament was moved because of the Olympic Games in August.
“The conditions are great,” Beck said. “The greens are softer than what I played last year. They were softer so we can attack more, so I think that’s why it’s a scoreable course this year, especially because we can just go for it, especially with having short irons.”
Park birdied five of the first seven holes.
“It was definitely not easy out there with the wind picking up, but I hit some good shots,” Park said. “There were some lucky shots out there, too, and then I think putting was kind of difficult, especially with the wind and the slopes. There were some really scary putts out there, especially when it’s helping wind downhill, but I had a good round.”
Lee had four straight birdies on her first nine holes and birdied three of her final five. The 19-year-old won last month in Hawaii for her second LPGA Tour title.
“It was pretty chilly,” Lee said. “I had my jumper on warming up, and long pants and long sleeves... Just the wind makes it cold.”
Mexico’s Alejandra Llaneza opened with a 68.
“I’m pretty happy,” Llaneza said.
“I didn’t know what to expect today. I have been actually really sick this week, so I was just like: ‘OK, one shot at a time.’ I think that helped. I got on a roll for a little bit there, so that was exciting,” she said.
Americans Morgan Pressel and Vicky Hurst, and Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung shot 69s.
“It was tough out there,” Pressel said. “Once we made the turn, around 10, my hat blew off, I lost my ball marker. The wind played really tough. It was tough to get it close to the hole, really, so when you end up 40 feet on some of these greens, it’s just good to two-putt.”
Min Lee was tied for 38th after an even-par 72, while fellow Taiwanese Yani Tseng and Hsu Wei-ling were five shots further back after carding 77s.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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