BEIJING (AP) — Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied five of her final seven holes Thursday for a 7-under 66 and the first-round lead in the Reignwood LPGA Classic.
“You learn you just got to stay patient,” Lewis said. “You’re not going to go shoot a 66 or 65 every single day. Yeah, I want to be in the lead. That’s where I want to be. I want to be in the lead coming up 18 on Sunday as well. It’s a good start, but we have a long ways to go.”
Lewis leads the tour with three victories and earnings of $2,214,143. Last year, she finished a stroke behind Shanshan Feng after the Chinese player eagled the par-5 18th.
Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall was second after a 67.
“I’m really happy with my game today,” Hedwall said. “I started off with two birdies and felt like I was on a roll there. I had quite a few birdie opportunities on the back nine and kept playing well. It was nice to finish off with a birdie as well. Just really happy. I just really like the golf course here. The greens are very nice. My key part of the game is tee to green, and suits me really well. The course has been in really nice shape.”
South Koreans Sun Young Yoo and Jenny Shin were tied for third at 68.
Lewis played alongside No. 2 Inbee Park and No. 4 Suzann Pettersen. Park shot 69, and Pettersen 74.
“The grouping today was fun.” Lewis said. “I always like playing with Inbee and Suzann. If you play with the best players in the world, that makes you better. I don’t know if it made me elevate my game and play a little bit a better, but we had great crowds out there, I thought, for a first round.”
Feng opened with a 75.
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