When Sung Hyun Park gets it going, look out.
She’s as dangerous a player as there is on the LPGA Tour and when her “A” game is out she can dominate a field.
While most of the world’s top five were pretty quiet on day one of the Women’s PGA Championship, Park, the sixth-ranked player in the world, shot a six-under par 66 at Kemper Lakes to claim the first round lead.
She went bogey-free on a day when a lot of big names struggled.
No. 1 Inbee Park was over par with a 73. No. 2, U.S. Open winner Ariya Jutanugarn shot 72 as did No. 3 Lexi Thompson. Shanshan Feng’s 74 left her dissatisfied while So Yeon Ryu was the only one of the top five under par. She turned in a three-under par 69.
Best American effort on Thursday came from 11th-ranked Jessica Korda.. She shot 67 and was tied for second with fellow American Jaye Marie Green and Canadian Brooke Henderson.
“It was great,” said Korda, who is looking for her first career major. “Finally, a golf course that benefits the long hitters. The last couple weeks it’s definitely been a lot of 3-woods or even 4-irons off the tees, so this is really, really nice.
“I haven’t had the best last couple of weeks,” said Korda, who has missed the cut in two of her last three starts. “I’ve kind of just been burning every edge. I’m just trying to stay patient. Every week is different. It’s kind of just one day at a time.”
Green is the surprise name near the top. She’s currently ranked 163rd in the world.
England’s Charley Hull was on her way to a share of the lead but she bogeyed two of her final three holes and finished with a 68.
