Shanshan Feng made five early birdies and shot an eight-under 64 on Thursday, taking a one-stroke lead over Juli Inkster and Choi Na-yeon after the first round of the State Farm LPGA Classic.
Meena Lee, Alena Sharp, Anna Nordqvist, M.J. Hur and Kim Song-hee were two shots back on a crowded leaderboard at Panther Creek Country Club. Seven other players were within three shots of the lead, including Cristie Kerr and Sophie Gustafson.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng was four shots off the lead after a four-under 68, while compatriot Amy Hung carded a one-under 71. The two other Taiwanese players, Candie Kung and Teresa Lu, shot even-par 72 and one-over 73 respectively.
Feng’s round was so clean, her only near-blemish came on the par-four 18th, when she had a poor stance on her second shot.
She was forced to pitch out, knocked a three-quarter pitching wedge and made a side-hill putt with a deft touch to save par.
The only Chinese-born player on the LPGA Tour made several lengthy putts during her bogey-free round, although her pro-am playing partners from a day earlier might have been wondering what was going on.
“I’m still a little sorry from yesterday because I didn’t make too many putts yesterday in the pro-am,” Feng said.
Inkster was two-over through six holes after a double-bogey on three when she finally started to sink some putts of her own. Six holes later, Inkster was suddenly at four-under.
“I’ve four-putted on the way to 75, but never to a 65,” Inkster said. “I can’t remember the last time I had six [birdies] in a row. I can’t remember when I’ve had five in a row.”
Choi’s round was similar to Feng’s in that she did most of her damage on the front side, with five birdies before the turn, but she missed chances on three of the four par-fives. Lee was a little more consistent, making several mid-range putts during her round.
Another tour veteran, Laura Davies, shot 68 but acknowledged it could have been even better.
“All the bogeys were silly. The last one [on nine], I hit a lovely seven-iron in, perfect all the way. It comes up short and I couldn’t get up and down after I pulled the putt,” Davies said. “All the bogeys were unnecessary.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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