MIDLAND, Mich. — Matilda Kastryn and Kelly Tan shot a 6-under 64 in alternating play Wednesday to take the lead in the first round at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA Tour’s only team event.
Kastrin, from Finland, and Tan, from Malaysia, drilled the last two holes and four of the last six at Midland Country Club.
“I felt like we were pretty well dumped today, honestly,” Tan said. “I hit the ball very well. I had a chance to hit the shots. And I mean, I think the opposite is true. We played really well today. There’s no complaining.”
Castrin Wotan finished second last year, five shots behind Jennifer Copshaw and Lisette Salas. They had a ghost-free tour Wednesday.
“I think she hit the ball really well today, too,” Castrin said. “It definitely gave me a lot of comfort. I knew she was going to get close to him.”
Celine Pottier and Yuka Sasso suffered a stroke at the age of 65 with the teams of Celine Borg Polly Mack and Paula Retto-Amelia Lewis.
“We are happy,” said Sasso. “I feel like we had some really good saves, and I think any time you can be bogey-free, it’s a good day.”
Swedes Linnea Ström and Linnea Johansson were 66 years old with Chinese duo Yue Liu and Ruixin Liu.
“We hit all the fairways and I thought that was a good event for the day, hitting all the fairways,” said Johansson. “It’s not easy to do that on alternate shots. It takes a little pressure off your shoulders for both players.”
Lexi Thompson and Brooke Henderson struggled, shooting a 73 that left them tied for 46th. It’s been four years since Thompson’s last win.
Teams will play better ball on Thursday, alternating on Friday and better ball on Saturday, with the tournament ending a day earlier than usual to give the players an extra day to get to France for the Evian Championship.