Kim Hyo-joo "4-Under Par Excitement"... Yoo Hae-ran Starts with '3-Under Par'

US Women's Open 1R: Lin Xiyu Tied for Lead
Yu Hae-ran 3rd, Yang Hee-young and Lee Jeong-eun 6 Tied 9th
Shin Ji-ae 13th, Jeon In-ji 21st, Ko Jin-young 124th

Kim Hyo-joo is advancing toward a major victory.

On the 6th (local time), Kim Hyo-joo fired a 4-under-par round to take the top spot on the leaderboard in the first round of the 78th US Women's Open, the third major of the LPGA Tour season, held at Pebble Beach Golf Links (par 72, 6,509 yards) in California, USA. Lin Xiyu (China) shares the lead, while rookie Yoo Hae-ran, Leona Maguire (Ireland), and Nasa Hataoka (Japan) are tied for third place (3-under-par 69).

Kim Hyo-joo is teeing off at the 14th hole in the first round of the US Women's Open.
[Pebble Beach (USA) = AP·Yonhap News]

Kim Hyo-joo collected five birdies and one bogey. She started with a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 5), followed by consecutive birdies on the 4th and 5th holes, and another birdie on the 8th hole, before recording a bogey on the 9th hole (all par 4s). On the back nine, she maintained par on seven holes and secured a valuable birdie on the 17th hole (par 3). She powered her round with an average drive of 250.4 yards and a fairway hit rate of 79%. Her putting average was 1.54 putts per hole. Tied for the lead by one stroke, she is poised for her sixth career win, her first in one year and three months since the Lotte Championship last April.

Yoo Hae-ran posted five birdies and two bogeys. Lee Jeong-eun 6 and Yang Hee-young are tied for 9th place (2-under-par 70), '64-time professional winner' Shin Ji-ae is tied for 13th (1-under-par 71), and Jeon In-ji and defending champion Minjee Lee (Australia) are tied for 21st (even par 72), all having started solidly. Domestic player Lee Da-yeon is tied for 29th (1-over-par 73), while Kim Sei-young and rising star Rose Zhang (USA) are tied for 39th (2-over-par 74). Nelly Korda (USA) and Lydia Ko (New Zealand) are tied for 83rd (4-over-par 76).

On the other hand, domestic No. 1 Park Min-ji is tied for 101st place (5-over-par 77). World No. 1 Ko Jin-young, the strongest player in recent times, recorded one birdie, six bogeys, and one double bogey, dropping to a tie for 124th place (7-over-par 79), making a strong performance in the second round crucial to advance to the final stage. Choi Hye-jin, Lilia Vu, and Michelle Wie West (all USA) are also in this group. Former golf queen Annika Sorenstam (Spain) is tied for 140th place (8-over-par 80).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.