At the 78th US Women’s Open (total prize money of 10 million dollars), Kim Hyo-joo laid the foundation for her first major victory in nine years. She tied for the lead on her first day with her godlike putting ability.
In the first round of the US Women’s Open held at Pebble Beach Golf Links (par 72, 6491 yards) in Pebble Beach, California, USA on the 7th (Korean time), Kim Hyo-joo tied for the lead with Lin Siyu (China) with 4 under par 68 strokes. Hyo-Joo Kim, who had only finished in the top 10 five times in her nine LPGA Tour events this season, created her first win of the season at her major event. She also inflated her chances of winning a major nine years after the 2014 Evian Championship.
It is the first time that the US Women’s Open has been held at Pebble Beach Golf Links. It may be unfamiliar to the players. In particular, the players had a hard time playing on the green. Only 20 out of 155 players recorded under par that day.
Kim Hyo-joo was different. She calmly reduced her number of strokes by putting her strong point, putt, at the forefront. On her first day, Kim Hyo-joo’s number of putts was 25안전놀이터, and her putt gain was 4.43, which was first overall. She made her first birdie on the 2nd hole (par 4) with a 3.2m putt. She then put a birdie putt of about 8.5m on the 8th hole (par 4) and she tied for the lead. There was also a crisis. On the 9th hole (par 4), her second shot fell into the bunker in front of the green and she wrote down her bogey. After that, he calmly continued his par march, and succeeded in putting a 6m birdie in the 17th hole (par 3) and took the lead again.
Four Korean players, including Kim Hyo-joo, made it to the top 10 on the first day of the tournament. Yoo Hae-ran, a rookie on the LPGA Tour, tied for third place (3 under par 69 strokes), one stroke behind Kim Hyo-joo. Yang Hee-young and Lee Jung-eun tied for 9th place (2 under par, 70 strokes), and “veteran” Shin Ji-ae tied for 13th place (1 under par, 71 strokes). On the other hand, world No. 1 Ko Jin-young was tied for 124th with a 7-over-par 79.