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Ina Yoon matched the best score in Women’s PGA Championship history with a nine-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead over Karis Davidson in the third major of the season on Thursday.
Yoon, a 23-year-old South Korean seeking his first LPGA Tour victory, birdied five of his last six holes at Hazeltine National Golf Club with a putter that was consistently in point.
English pair Charlie Hull and Lottie Wade sit 10 and nine shots respectively off the lead after the opening round, while Nellie Korda, aiming to become only the third woman to win the first three majors on the schedule, had a round of 70 to sit at two under.
England’s Charlie Hull endured a disappointing opening round to sit at one over, 10 shots off the lead.
Davidson, who finished more than four hours after Yoon, had eight birdies en route to a career-best 65 on a calm and partly cloudy afternoon that produced a low score on a long course on Minneapolis’ southwest prairie that requires accuracy and muscle.
Alexa Pano and A Lim Kim tied for third with 67s. Alain Crowther, Hye-Jin Choi and Megan Kang followed at 68. Five Americans came in among the top eight scores, including ties.
Korda (second round in 2021) and Patty Sheehan (third round in 1984) also posted nine-under 63s in previous Women’s PGA Championships.
Nelly Korda is seven shots off the lead after the opening round, sitting at two under
Yoon has the fourth-best first-round score at any major since at least 1980, trailing 2014 at the Evian Championship (10-under 61), Miriam Lee at the 2016 Women’s British Open (10-under 61), and Lorena Ochoa (Kraraft20-1-61) at the Evian Championship.
The 39th ranked player in the world, Yun looked like he surprised even himself with a great start.
“I just hit the golf ball and it just went in the hole and it was a really cool experience,” Yoon said, later explaining his mental approach: “Just try not to think about anything. Focus on what I need to do. Focus on the process. That part I think I did great today.”
Davidson, who has crossed 15 tournaments for the third-longest active streak on tour behind Korda (31) and Celine Boutier (20), is also looking for her first career win.
“Hit a lot of fairways. Hit a lot of greens. It felt pretty good to putt today. It really felt like I was shredding everything,” Davidson said. “So it was a pretty perfect round.”
Davidson, a 27-year-old Australian, had his best finish earlier this year at the Aramco Championship in April when he tied for fifth. Classmate and close friend Hannah Green won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2019, the last time it was at Hazeltine.
Hull’s compatriot Lottie Woad failed to fare much better, and even sat equal
Gino Thitikul, the world’s second-ranked player seeking his first career major, scored a 69. It’s the fifth time she’s finished in the top 10 at a major, including the Women’s PGA Championship last year. The Thai star broke 70 in official regular stroke play 45 times last season, the second-highest score on tour.
The runaway LPGA Tour scoring leader at midseason, Korda double-bogeyed the Lakeside 16th hole with “a bad swing” that landed in a pond to the left for a penalty stroke on the first shot.
“I just flipped it. By now you feel it when it’s bad. So the wind was to the right and I actually made a swing I think pretty quick and I was kind of between the clubs,” Korda said. “It was a pretty scary tee shot, and I didn’t really like the way I hit it at the start.”
He moved into par before Korda’s 19-foot putt on the 18th green stopped inches from the hole, finishing at about the same time as Yoon, who came close on the ninth hole. Inbee Park (2013) and Babe Zaharias (1950) are the only women in golf history to win the first three majors in one calendar year.
Amanda Doherty had a hole-in-one 72 on the 17th.
Who will win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship? Watch coverage of the second round on Sky Sports Golf from 5.30pm on Friday. Get Sky Sports or Flow without any contract.
