BELMONT – The Meijer LPGA Classic has built a reputation with the players for having lots of birdie chances – how about four eagles from contenders?
Most of the fairways are long and there are five par-5 holes on the course at Blythefield Country Club, and strong players are able to rack up some birdies.
But four of the top 10 golfers on the leaderboard did even better, as Mi Hyang Lee and Grace Kim both shot eagles on the par-5 No. 10 hole to surge ahead of the field. Meanwhile, American Andrea Lee eagled 18 to remain just three shots back and Ruixin Liu eagled No. 14 to finish 5-under.
Mi Hyang Lee had the lead at 8-under-par 64. Kim was just one shot behind at 7-under.
Lee eagled No. 10, one hole after four consecutive birdies to soar into the lead.
“No. 10 (I had a) good drive and then I didn’t expect I could hit the green there for my second shot, but it was a great line and good hit the 3-wood and then I made the green, so it was almost 24 feet, right to left, for the eagle putt,” Lee said. “Then I didn’t expect to make it, but just trying to make more distance control the putting but it was working.”
Lee was pleased with her day overall, especially the four birdies in a row.
“So my shot was great. I missed only two fairways. I think that’s a lot of help for hit the green a lot, too,” Lee said. “And my iron distance control was really good today, so I made more birdie chances.”
The one-shot difference was a bogey
“I had two back-to-back chip-ins, one for eagle and one for birdie. That was a good start to the back nine. Yeah, just kind of saved pars early and then loosened up as we went on. That was quite nice,” Kim said. “Had one little bogey. I would say a setback, but that didn’t really set me back anyway because I knew the next hole was a par-5.”
Andrea Lee had her best hole at 18.
“And then 18 obviously a gettable par-5. Hit a good drive and then hit a really good 3-wood. Striped it up the center of the green and it bounced to the right. Feel like it maybe took a peek at the hole. Ended up three feet and made eagle there,” she said. “So that was a nice finish to my front nine.”
Former champs Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson in mix
Several former Meijer champions were in the field and had mixed results in the first round.
Lexi Thompson finished the first round at 4-under, a strong finish.
Starting on the back nine, she birdied the 14th and 18th. After the turn, she birdied the 4th, 5th and 8th hole and had one bogey at No. 7.
“I mean, just take the positives from today. You know, I hit some iffy shots but also hit some really great ones, and felt like I stroked it well,” Thompson said. “So just really build off that and take that into tomorrow.”
It was far from her best round at Blythefield, but a very solid start that will keep her in the mix, as she always is at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
And she always has the biggest crowd.
“It’s always what I hope for, what we all hope for really, just to see the support out here in Grand Rapids and women’s golf. It’s just amazing how the community really gets behind this event,” Thompson said. “I think the girls really just enjoy coming here.”
Two-time champion Brooke Henderson shot a 3-under par 69.
Not every former champion started strong.
Leona Maguire, who also has enjoyed stellar success at this event, including a win, finished even with four birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey on 17. Mirim Lee struggled and finished 4-over.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Four eagles crowd leaderboard at Meijer LPGA Classic; Lexi Thompson in mix
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
