Se-young Kim, Ah-rim Kim, and Su-bin Joo "Sing in Unison with 4 Under Par"

Danao Open 1R Tied 14th, 3 Shots Behind
Bunchan and Grant Tied for Lead, Rose Jang 5th
Ko Jin-young 39th, Jeon In-ji and Lopez Tied 60th

It is a fresh start for 2019 champion Kim Se-young.

On the 13th (local time), she shot a 4-under-par 67 in the first round of the Dana Open (total prize money $1.75 million) held at Highland Meadows Golf Club (par 71, 6,555 yards) in Sylvania, Ohio, USA, placing her in a tie for 14th. Jaravee Boonchant (Thailand) and Linn Grant (Sweden) share the lead at 7-under-par 64, while Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) is tied for third at 6-under-par 65.

Kim Sei-young is teeing off at the 5th hole of the first round of the Dana Open. [Sylvania (USA) = AFP·Yonhap News]

Kim Se-young recorded one eagle, five birdies, and three bogeys. After a birdie on the 13th hole, she lost it with a bogey on the 15th hole (both par 4s), then rallied with a birdie on the 17th hole, an eagle on the 18th hole (both par 5s), and a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 3). However, she was unable to reduce her score further as she exchanged two birdies for two bogeys over the remaining seven holes. Her long drives averaging 261 yards stood out. She is three strokes behind the joint leaders and is in a position to claim her 13th career victory, her first in 2 years and 8 months since the Pelican Women’s Championship in November 2020.

Rookie Boonchant swept up seven birdies (with two bogeys), including a shot eagle. She is sponsored by Hana Financial Group in Korea. Her personal best finish is a tie for 9th at the JM Eagle LA Championship last May. Rising stars Rose Zhang (USA) and Lin Xiyu (China) are tied for 5th at 5-under-par 66. Former champions Lydia Ko (New Zealand, 2014 and 2016), US Women’s Open winner Ally Ewing (USA), Minjee Lee (Australia), Kim A-rim, and Joo Soo-bin are tied for 14th at 4-under-par 67.

“Longest reigning world No. 1” Ko Jin-young recorded three birdies and one bogey, tying for 39th place with Lee Mi-hyang at 2-under-par 69. Jeon In-ji and defending champion Gaby Lopez (Mexico) are tied for 60th at 1-under-par 70, Choi Hye-jin and Park Sung-hyun are tied for 83rd at even par 71, Yoo Hae-ran is tied for 104th at 1-over-par 72, and Lee Jeong-eun 6 is tied for 128th at 3-over-par 74.

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