CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Lauren Coughlin shot a 4-under-par 68 Thursday in cold, windy conditions to take the first-round lead at the CPKC Women’s Open.
Fellow American Jennifer Kupcho was one shot behind with Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Australians Minjee Lee and Hannah Green.
Coughlin opened the round that began on No. 11 with eight straight pars, then had five birdies and a bogey over the final 10 holes as temperatures barely climbed into the 60s at Earl Grey Golf Club.
“It was a lot windier than I expected, so I had to be very patient at first,” Coughlin said. “I started to sink some putts. It was tough, for sure, but I made a lot of really good shots and a lot of good putts.”
Winless on the LPGA Tour, the 31-year-old former University of Virginia player just finished fourth two weeks ago in France at the Evian Champions major tournament.
“Since playing in Evian, I’ve been hitting the ball extremely well,” Coughlin said. “To keep that up, even for a week off, was really good. I’m just trying to be myself and have fun and see what I shoot.”
Kupcho had four birdies and one bogey.
“The weather was a little crazy,” Kupcho said. “I feel like we had three different seasons on 18 holes. It got nice at the end and that’s when I made all my birdies. Really, I just tried to stay patient all day.”
Green has won twice this year, taking the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April.
“It was tough out there,” Green said. “It was nice the sun came out. It was pretty cold towards the middle of our round. I’m just really happy to finish under par this afternoon.”
Three-time champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand topped the field at age 70. Ko won as an amateur in 2012 at age 15, successfully defended her title as an amateur in 2013 and won as a professional in 2015.
“It was cold and windy,” Ko said. “Tuesday and Wednesday were warm and there was no wind. So it felt like I was playing a different golf course. I knew I had to be patient.”
Hye-Jin Choi was also 70 years old with Alison Lee, Haeran Ryu, Jenny Shin and Gigi Stoll.
Savannah Grewal and Maude-Aimee Leblanc each shot 71, edging out the Canadians on the grid. Canadian star Brooke Henderson, the 2018 champion, opened with a 72.
“It wasn’t quite the hot start I wanted, but I felt like we fought pretty hard,” Henderson said. “It was pretty tough this morning. It was a little bit cooler and there was a lot of wind.”
Second-placed Lilia Vu also scored 71.
Lexi Thompson shot a 72. She plans to play a limited schedule after this season.
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