Peiyun Chien shot a 5-under 67 on a wet Thursday within the transplanted Chevron Championship to take the first-round lead within the LPGA Tour’s first main of the 12 months.
Unable to discover a sponsor prepared so as to add to the half-century run at Mission Hills, the event — finest generally known as the Dinah Shore — bolted the California desert for the woods of suburban Houston below a six-year cope with Chevron.
The 32-year-old Chien, who’s from Taiwan, had six birdies — together with 4 in a five-hole span on Nos. 4-8 — at The Club at Carlton Woods.
Second-ranked Nelly Korda was amongst six gamers and three Americans tied for second at 68. Korda is totally wholesome after lacking 4 months and a number of momentum final 12 months with a blood clot in her arm that required surgical procedure.
She had three bogeys however made up for it with seven birdies and 4 in her final six holes, together with the final two.
“I took advantage of the par 5s today,” she stated. “I think I birdied them all, so that was important, as I’m a bit of a longer hitter. Overall, I played pretty well. It was nice to finish the way I did with just a tap-in birdie.”
Chien completed fourth in her final event after not making the minimize within the earlier two.
“I hit a really good wedge shot on 4 and then I hit a 6-foot putt, and the next hole I made a 30-foot birdie,” she stated. “Then the next hole I hit a 9-iron to the green, hit it to like 6 feet and made another good putt.”
The climate was clear for a lot of the morning, however mild to heavy rain fell by an enormous chunk of the afternoon. Play continued by the rain till being suspended at 3:38 p.m. for nearly an hour due to thunderstorms within the space.
Australian Stephanie Kyriacou additionally tied for second after sinking an eagle on the 18th gap. She was among the many group who performed within the afternoon and stated the rain made the greens softer.
“It only kind of rained for about four or five holes for us, and then it got called off,” she stated. “And then it didn’t rain for the rest, so I guess we were kind of lucky with what the weather was predicting. We kind of got away with it a little bit.”
Americans Marina Alex and Lilia Vu additionally shot 68. Alex thought the change in venue created an attention-grabbing dynamic for the event.
“No one really has all that much of an advantage or years and years of experience playing a course and being familiar with it and maybe they like certain places over others,” she stated. “So, I think it really puts everyone on the same ground, and I enjoy that.”
Vu, who began on the again 9, had an opportunity to maneuver right into a tie for the lead after hitting an eagle on the eighth gap. But her putt for birdie on her final gap was off and she or he settled for par to tie for second.
“You really have to focus on each shot,” she stated. “You can’t really get ahead of yourself because it’s quite a demanding golf course.”
Japan’s Ayaka Furue and South Korea’s Chella Choi each had 5 birdies to spherical out the group tied for second place.
Chevron elevated the prize purse to $5.1 million this 12 months after elevating it from $3 to $5 million final 12 months.
Eila Galitsky, a 16-year-old novice, was tied for ninth after a 70. She earned a spot on this event and two different majors by profitable the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific final month.
The highschool sophomore, who began taking part in golf at age 8, entered the event with a purpose of ending because the top-ranked novice.
There had been some unwelcome guests to the course after lunch when a herd of about 10 deer ran throughout the 18th inexperienced.
The animals quickly ran to the sting of the course the place they stopped for a bit earlier than being shooed into the close by woods by a volunteer.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for twenty third at 71 in her quest to win a significant for the primary time since 2016 after an up and down spherical with three birdies and three bogeys. After beginning on the again 9, she birdied on the ninth gap to complete below par after capturing bogeys on holes seven and eight.
“To be honest, I struggled the first few times I played around this course, and I was like, I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” she stated. “But I feel like when you start playing, even if you don’t hit it the best … you can just manage your way around and not try to make it perfect, just try to shoot the best score.”
Georgia Hall, the winner of the 2018 Women’s British Open who has completed second in two of her final three tournaments, opened with a 70.
American Lexi Thompson had a 74 in a disappointing spherical. Her efficiency got here a day after she stated she was combating a sore proper wrist after hitting an excessive amount of at house in preparation for the event.
Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho was tied for thirty seventh after a 72.