KAPOLEI, Hawaii Nelly Korda recorded nine birdies in a bogey-free 63 Wednesday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Lotte Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club.
KAPOLEI, Hawaii — Nelly Korda recorded nine birdies in a bogey-free 63 Wednesday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Lotte Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club.
Eun-Hee Ji birdied six of the final eight holes for an 8-under 64, and defending champion Brooke Henderson and Hyejin Choi, playing on a sponsor exemption, are two shots back.
Hannah Green, of Australia, who holed out for eagle from just inside 100 yards on the third hole, is tied for fifth at 66 with South Korean So Yeon Ryu.
A big group at 67 includes 2016 Lotte champ Minjee Lee, In Gee Chun, sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and rookies Suzuka Yamaguchi and Lilia Vu.
Jin Young Ko, the new No. 1 after winning two of her last three starts, finished at 69. She is coming off a victory at the year’s first major and has finished outside the top five just once in her last six starts.
Kim Kaufman had a hole-in-one on the fourth hole — the first of her six-year LPGA career. She shot 71.
Hawaii’s Michelle Wie — the 2014 Lotte champion who is coming back from a wrist injury — shot 77.
