Inbee Park has won 20 times with seven major championships and the Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad was a great fit for her on Thursday as the LPGA’s Kia Classic got underway.
The player with perhaps the best tempo in golf opened with a bogey-free round of 66 as she goes for win number 21 this week.
Going into the competition, there was a lot of hype around the return of Michelle Wie (West) as she made her first appearance on the LPGA Tour since June of 2019. There were no miracles for Wie on Thursday as she showed the rust of a long layoff and signed for a nine-over par 81. Her day started wonderfully with a birdie on the first hole but it would be her last. Eight bogeys and a double late and she ended up with the snowman.
As for Park, ranked fourth in the world, she enjoyed the green complexes at Aviara, using only 27 putts in her first round.
“Really happy with the round today, especially I putted really good on these greens,” Park said after she finished. “I know it’s going to be a test of some patience with the putting greens and obviously, being my first week out, I am probably a little bit rusty. I’m just trying to get the tournament feeling going for the next three days. If results are good, it’s great, but if not, I’m just warming up. It’s a good warmup for a first day.”
Park is playing in the event for the 11th time. She has never missed a cut. She’s finished runner-up three times and her worst finish was back in 2017 when she tied for 21st.
“The course is not overly long and I hit quite a few short irons into the greens so I get opportunities for birdies,” Park said. “It’s just a matter of holing some putts out here. With poa annua greens, it’s really tough to get the speed and break right. I seem to do quite well on these greens.”
Hyo Joo Kim was a shot back of Park with a 67. She’s playing in her first LPGA tournament since the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship.
Sophia Popov, In Gee Chun and Brits Mel Reid and Stephanie Meadow were tied for third with four-under par 68s.
World’s No. 1 Jin Young Ko got into red numbers with a 71, No. 2 Sei Young Kim posted even par 72.
It wasn’t a great day for Nelly Korda, highest-ranked American at No. 3. She struggled and finished with a three-over par 75. Fifth-ranked Danielle Kang’s 70 put her in contention.
Daniel Van Tonder Wins Kenya Savannah Open:
South African Daniel Van Tonder has had nice success on the Sunshine Tour and now he’s finally a winner on the European Tour.
Van Tonder birdied the third playoff hole Friday at the Karen Country Club to beat Jazz Janewattanond of Thailand.
The two were tied after regulation 72 holes at 21-under par. Van Tonder got to that number by holing a 38-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to post 21-under then waited as Janewattanond finished par-par to tie him.
Both players closed with seven-under par rounds of 64. Janewattanond will look back and know that his miss for par from seven feet at the 16th hole probably cost him the championship as it dropped him from 22-under back to 21-under.
