Wegmans LPGA – 1st Round

Seven players are tied for the first-round lead at -4 at the Wegmans LPGA. Jeong Jang, Cristie Kerr, Song-Hee Kim, Inbee Park, Ai Miyazato, Soo-Yun Kang and rookie Jimin Jeong all opened with 68s. Seven other players began with rounds of 69.

Aside from Miyazato and Park, all of the leaders played in the afternoon groups. Several stars who went off this morning (Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer most prominently) weren’t nearly as successful negotiating the Locust Hill layout. If the usual scoring trend returns on Friday, the players who went early today and go late tomorrow may end up at a huge disadvantage. The scores:

69 Hee-Won Han, Morgan Pressel, Kyeong Bae, Young-A Yang
70 Suzann Pettersen, Laura Diaz, Jane Park, Eun-Hee Ji
71 Christina Kim, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome
71 Candie Kung, Moira Dunn, Leta Lindley, Sandra Gal
72 Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lang
72 Stacy Prammanasudh, Sophie Gustafson, Natalie Gulbis
73 Annika Sorenstam, Maria Hjorth, Mi Hyun Kim, Taylor Leon
74 Paula Creamer, Seon Hwa Lee, Jee Young Lee, Amy Hung
74 Lindsey Wright, Sun Young Yoo, Angela Park, Meena Lee
75 Grace Park, Jimin Kang, Sarah Lee, Sarah Kemp
76 Juli Inkster, Shi Hyun Ahn, Louise Friberg, Michelle McGann
77 Karen Stupples, Vicky Hurst, Brandie Burton

The Constructivist does his usual fine job of reporting the day’s progress (despite real work getting in the way – good to see that doesn’t only happen to me!), with gems like Michelle Wie only hitting four fairways all day and still managing 71.

Is Cristie Kerr rounding into form in time for the U.S. Open again? Can the Big Three get it in gear tomorrow? Will Song-Hee Kim be able to stay near the top of the leaderboard on a course which requires more accuracy than she’s displayed to this point in her career? Can Jimin Jeong collect her second career Top 10 finish in as many events? So many questions to be answered…