The inaugural LPGA Lotte Championship kicked off its first round Wednesday at the Ko Olina Golf Club in Hawaii. Yani Tseng, Brittany Lincicome and Cristie Kerr were among the notables who rose to the top of the leaderboard after Round 1.
Tseng fired a 3-under 69 and looks poised for yet another victory.
Ji-Yai Shin, Angela Stanford and Brittany Lang also tied Tseng at 3 under. Inbee Park shot a solid first-round 70.
In her first LPGA start since a stunning missed putt which cost her the Kraft Nabisco Championship, I.K. Kim shot 1-under 71, along with Karrie Webb.
Jessica Korda and Morgan Pressel are among a group of players in at even-par 72.
Paula Creamer, who won the last LPGA event held in Hawaii in 2008, opened in 1-over 73.
Korda’s playing partners, Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson, did not fare as well as the 19-year-old. Thompson shot 3-over 75, finishing with a double bogey at the par-4 finishing hole.
With a pair of early double bogeys, Wie shot 78 and is now in danger of missing a third consecutive LPGA cut.