THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Byun Shin fired a 5-under 67 on a rainy Thursday in a planted Chevron Championship to take the first-round lead at this year’s LPGA Tour Grand Prix.
Unable to find a sponsor willing to add to the half-century race at Mission Hills, the tournament — better known as Dinah Shore — pulled out of the California desert for the woods of the Houston suburbs under a six-year deal with Chevron.
The 32-year-old Shin, who is from Taiwan, had a six birdie–including a four-by-five hole par par of 4-8–at the clubhouse at Carlton Woods.
The second seed was Nelly Korda out of six players and three Americans tied for second at age 68. Korda is doing well after losing four months and much momentum last year with a blood clot in her arm that required surgery.
She had three bogeys but made up with seven birdies and a four on her last six holes, including the last two holes.
“I benefited 5 times today,” she said. “I think I chased them all down, so that was important, because I hit a little bit longer. Overall I played well. It was nice to finish the way I did with just a birdie to peck.”
Chen finished fourth in her last tournament after not making the cut in the previous two tournaments.
“I hit a really good wedge putt on the 4 and then I putt a 6-foot putt, and on the next hole I made a 30-foot birdie,” she said. “Then on the next hole I hit an iron 9 on the green, hit it to 6 feet and made another good putt.”
The weather was clear most of the morning, but light to heavy rain fell for much of the afternoon. Play continued in the rain until it was halted at 3:38 PM for about an hour due to thunderstorms in the area.
Australian Stephanie Kiriakou also tied for second after sinking an eagle on the 18th hole. She was among the group that played in the afternoon and said the rain made the greens softer.
“It kind of rained for about four or five holes for us, and then it got cancelled,” she said. “And then the rest of it didn’t rain, so I think we were kind of lucky with what the weather was predicting. We kind of got away with it a little bit.”
Americans Marina Alex and Lilia Fu also filmed 68. Alex thought the change in venue created an exciting dynamic for the tournament.
“Nobody really has that much advantage or years and years of experience playing a course and getting to know it and maybe liking certain places over others,” she said. “So, I think it really puts everyone on the same floor, and I’m enjoying that.”
Fu, who started on the ninth putt, had the opportunity to move to par for the lead after hitting an eagle on the eighth hole. But her birdie putt on her final hole was off and settled for a par for second.
“You really have to focus on every shot,” she said. “You can’t really get ahead of yourself because it’s a demanding golf course.”
Japan’s Ayaka Furio and South Korea’s Sheila Choi each had five birdies to beat the group, who tied for second.
Chevron raised the prize purse to $5.1 million this year after raising it from $3 to $5 million last year.
Ella Galitsky, a 16-year-old girl, is clocked at 9th after 70. She secured a place in this championship and two other majors with a win in the Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur last month.
The high school sophomore, who began playing golf at the age of eight, entered the tournament with the goal of securing the top amateur spot.
There were some unwanted visitors to the course after lunch when a herd of about 10 deer ran across the 18th green.
The animals quickly ran to the edge of the track where they stopped for a bit before being pushed into the nearby woods by a volunteer.
23rd-ranked Lydia Ko is tied for 71st in her quest to win a major for the first time since 2016 after an up-and-down run with three birdies and three bogeys. After starting in the back of the ninth, she birdied the ninth hole to finish under par after shooting bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes.
“Honestly, I struggled the first few times I played around this course, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this,'” she said. “But I feel when you start playing, even if you don’t get the best score… you can just manage your way and not try to make it perfect, just try to score the best score.”
Georgia Hall, winner of the 2018 Women’s British Open and runner-up in two of the last three tournaments, opens with a score of 70.
American Lexi Thompson made a disappointing 74 innings. Her performance came a day after she said she was experiencing pain in her right wrist after hitting a hard home run in preparation for the tournament.
Defending champion Jennifer Copshaw was 37th after 72.