Jennifer Kupcho made a powerful begin to golf’s second ladies’s main of the yr as she leads the US Ladies’s Open by one shot after the primary spherical on Thursday.
The 29-year-old American fired a five-under 66 at Riviera Nation Membership in Los Angeles to guide from South Korea’s Kim Sei-Younger.
Kupcho stated that took “slightly little bit of a weight off my chest” after lacking the reduce at this occasion prior to now three years.
Kupcho, whose solely earlier main title got here on the Chevron Championship in 2022, opened with three straight birdies and completed with seven general, together with two bogeys.
“It is form of a ball-striker’s paradise – simply hit it down the green, hit it on the inexperienced and make the putts,” she stated.
“I used to be hitting the ball nicely at the moment, additionally rolling the ball rather well with the putter, so [that] undoubtedly helped with the boldness with my putter.”
Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and one-time main winner Hinako Shibuno, of Japan, are amongst a gaggle of 5 which are tied for third place, two photographs off the lead.
World primary Nelly Korda, who gained the yr’s opening main in April, was slightly off the tempo with a spherical of 73.
“I simply felt like I used to be grinding to make secure pars,” stated the American. “It wasn’t a terrific day. I’ve truthfully no concept the place this got here from.”
She was joined on two-over by world quantity two Atthaya Thitikul and the English quintet of Charley Hull, Mimi Rhodes, Bronte Regulation, Lottie Woad and Nellie Ong.
The occasion is happening on the Los Angeles course that hosts the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational and would be the golf venue for the 2028 Olympics.
