By Tom LaMarre, Courtesy The Sports Xchange
Lexi Thompson and Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea posted 5-under-par 66s to share the lead after one round of the Evian Championship, the final LPGA Tour major of the year, at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France.
The 20-year-old Thompson, who claimed her first major title in the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship, went birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie through the 15th hole after starting on the back nine and had 14 pars in her bogey-free round.
“It feels great to have a stretch of holes like that and hitting good golf shots off the tee or into the hole or making a few good putts out there, it’s important in a major championship,” said Thompson, who won the Meijer LPGA Classic in July.
“But you just have to take one shot at a time and not get ahead of yourself because, I mean, shots can get away from you out here. If you hit it in the rough, the rough’s pretty thick, so you know you have to make some good pars if you miss the fairway.”
Lee, whose only pro victory came in the 2014 Mizuno Classic, collected seven birdies, including three on her last seven holes while finishing on the front nine.
Gerina Piller had eight birdies in a 67 and was tied for third with Eun-Hee Ji, who made an eagle on the ninth hole, and Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand, who took her only bogey on the 17th hole.
Beth Allen of Ojai and Cal State Northridge, who plays on the Ladies European Tour, birdied two of her last four holes en route to a 68 and was tied for tied for sixth with Shanshan Feng of China, Min Lee of South Korea, Nicole Broch Larsen of Norway, Minjee Lee of Australia and Sei Young Kim of South Korea.
Second-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand shot 69 and was in a tie for 12th that included Morgan Pressel, while Brook Henderson of Canada celebrated her 18th birthday by shooting 70 and was in a tie for 17th that included Alison Lee of Valencia and UCLA, Brittany Lincicome and Mariajo Uribe of Colombia and UCLA, and Charley Hull of England.
Top-ranked Inbee Park of South Korea was tied for 40th after a 72.
Tom LaMarre has been a sportswriter and copy editor for more than 50 years, including 15 years with the Oakland Tribune and 22 with the Los Angeles Times. He was the Tribune’s beat writer for the Oakland Raiders for seven seasons in the 1970s, highlighted by their 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and collaborated on a book, Winning Offensive Football, with quarterback Ken Stabler. He also covered the Oakland Athletics when they won three consecutive World Series during the 1970s and the Golden State Warriors when they won the NBA championship in the 1974-75 season. With the Times, he wrote columns on golf, football and skiing. These days, he is the Golf Editor for The Sports Xchange. LaMarre graduated from Skyline High in Oakland and attended the University of San Francisco.