The Woodlands: Two-time LPGA winner Ryu Hae-ran is tied at the top of the leaderboard after the weather-interrupted opening round of the season's first major tournament in Texas. Ryu fired a bogey-free round of seven-under 65 to start the Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, tying Liu Yan of China for the first-round lead. Ryu had two sets of back-to-back birdies at No. 2 and No. 3, and then No. 7 and No. 8. On the back nine, Ryu birdied the par-4 10th, and then two par-5 holes, 13th and 18th.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the 65 was Ryu's lowest score on the LPGA Tour since she shot 64 in the third round of The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican last November. Ryu, who tied for fifth at last year's Chevron Championship on the same course, expressed her desire to build on her previous success at the venue. With only 24 putts needed to complete the first 18 holes, Ryu credited her effective putting. "Today, my putter was pretty good, and I just want to try and trust in my golf," Ryu said after the round. "That was amazing today because I changed the putter last (week's) second round and (I felt) more comfortable with my putting this week."
Two other South Korean players were also in early contention. Kim Hyo-joo, a seven-time tour winner, shot five-under 67 with seven birdies and two bogeys, including one at the 18th hole, to position herself alone in third place. "I played well overall," Kim remarked. "But because I kind of lost it in the 18th, I want to get my mindset together so I can play better tomorrow."
Choi Hye-jin, seeking her first LPGA title in her fourth season, is in a six-way tie for fourth place at four-under after her bogey-free day of 68. "I felt really calm today," said Choi, who missed the cut at the JM Eagle LA Championship last week. "I felt uncomfortable when I started this tournament because last week wasn't great. So I just tried to stay calm and focus on my setup before I swung. It really helped today."
The first round was suspended due to inclement weather conditions with 24 out of 132 players still on the course. It will resume at 7:15 a.m. Friday (local time), with the second round also starting at the same time as scheduled.