Hyo Joo Kim took the first-round lead in The Ascendant LPGA with a back-nine birdie run in a seven-under 64; “My putting hasn’t been good. But it worked really well for the first time in a while, so I was able to hit low scores”.
Last Updated: 06/10/23 7:18am
Hyo Joo Kim hits her tee shot on the 10th hole
Hyo Joo Kim took the first-round lead Thursday in The Ascendant LPGA, breaking away at the Old American course with a back-nine birdie run in a seven-under 64.
The 28-year-old had a two-stroke lead over Azahara Munoz of Spain, Sofia Garcia of Paraguay and Yu-Sang Hou of Taiwan. Sarah Kemp of Australia and American Marina Alex followed at 67.
Kim had eight birdies and a bogey in her afternoon round. After a bogey on the par-three 11th, she birdied Nos 13-16 and parred the final two.
“My putting hasn’t been good, so I hadn’t been able to hit low scores,” she said. “But my putting worked really well for the first time in a while, so I was able to hit low scores and it was a satisfying day.”
The five-time LPGA Tour winner has eight top-10 finishes this season without a victory, and wants to change that.
“It’s good that I’m on top of the leader board often, but it’s disappointing that I’m not at the top at the end of the week,” Kim said. “I really want to stay at the top of the leader board after this week’s done.”
Garcia, meanwhile, played at Texas Tech, and is a rookie on the LPGA Tour.
“Obviously, I went to school in Texas,” Garcia said. “I know the weather. Today was definitely on the nicer side of Texas.”
Alex closed with a bogey on the par-four ninth.
“I just played well,” Alex said. “I hit good drives, good approaches; I putted really nicely. I think the exception was the last hole. I missed about a six-footer.”
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