Linea Johansson (Sweden), ranked 358th in the world, started off as a ‘surprising leader’ at the JM Eagle LA Championship (total prize money of 3 million dollars) on the LPGA Tour and became the main character on the first day. Yang Hee-young and Yoo Hae-ran started in a tie for 7th place by three strokes, and Choi Hye-jin, Choi Woon-jeong, and Kang Hye-ji started smoothly by reducing two strokes each.
In the first round of the tournament held at Wilshire CC (par 71, 6447 yards) in Los Angeles, California, USA on the 28th, Johansson caught 7 birdies without bogey and recorded 7 under par 64, tied for second place with Lee Min-jee (Australia) and Gemma Driver ( Scotland, 6 under par 65 strokes) took the lead by one stroke.
Johansson, who went through the LPGA Part 2 Epson Tour and went up to the 2020 1st part tour, but has never made it to the top 10, said, “I have been working hard to have a stable swing, and today it worked.” I was able to hit the ball well and read it well and put it into the hole.”
On this day, Johansson recorded a 100% fairway landing rate (14/14) and 83.3% (15/18) green hit rate, and finished with 26 putts, becoming a hot topic on the first day. Johansson, who started with an unexpected score in a big tournament in which 8 of the world’s top 10 players participated, pledged to fight for the remaining rounds, saying, “The world’s best players have come out, and it is very difficult, but it is also difficult for all players.”
Three Koreans, including Korean player Daniel Kang (USA), tied for 4th place, while Yang Hee-young and Yoo Hae-ran, along with Allison Lee and veteran Christie Kerr (USA), were tied for 7th place.
Yang Hee-young reduced 4 strokes with 6 birdies and 2 bogeys, and continued her uptrend by finishing last week in a tie for 4th at the Chevron Championship in a major tournament, while Yoo Hae-ran recorded 5 birdies and 1 bogey.크크크벳
Yoo Hae-ran said, “I played so badly that I didn’t remember hitting under par for the past three weeks, but I felt comfortable starting with a score of 4 under from the first day.” I think I can play comfortably,” he said.
Kim Hyo-joo shot 1-under-par 68 with 2 birdies and 1 bogey to tie for 33rd place, and Ko Jin-young, who ranked 3rd in the world, started with 2 birdies and 3 bogies, 1-over-par 72 and tied for 72nd.
Nellie Corda (USA), who returned to world No. 1 by finishing third in the Chevron Championship, scored a 2-under-par 69 with 4 birdies and 2 bogeys and tied for 20th with Choi Hye-jin and others.