Silent screams from top players on the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour echoed across Scotland, the "home of golf." Fierce sea winds combined with tricky pin positions to bring down world-class players one after another, and a staggering 29 players carded 80 or more—a score typical of "weekend golfers."
The first round of the LPGA Tour's ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open (total prize money 2 million dollars), held on the 23rd (local time) at Dundonald Links (par 72) in North Ayrshire, Scotland, in the U.K., was nothing short of a "survival game." The pins, cruelly placed at the edges of the sloping surfaces on the large, undulating greens, evoked the final round of a major championship from the very first day. Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand was so astonished during her round that she asked her caddie, "We're playing the final round right now, aren't we?"
The scorecards were dismal. Minjee Lee, an Australian-Korean with 11 career LPGA Tour wins, recorded no birdies, seven bogeys and three double bogeys for a 13-over-par 85, starting in a tie for 140th. Lee So-mi also managed just one birdie but committed seven bogeys and two double bogeys for a 10-over-par 82, falling into a tie for 130th.
Even the world's top-ranked players were helpless before the impregnable links course. World No. 7 Charley Hull of England attempted a birdie putt from about 4.5 meters on the fifth hole (par 5), but the ball rode the slope and rolled off the green. After repeating chip shots four times, she carded a quadruple bogey, losing four strokes at once. Her score for the day was a 6-over-par 78, dropping her to a tie for 89th. Georgia Hall of England also wandered through the rough and around the green on the 14th hole (par 5), recording a "quintuple bogey" by losing five strokes on a single hole, and finished in a tie for 130th.
Amid such a "disaster," Shin Ji-eun carded seven birdies and one bogey for a 6-under-par 66, rising to a tie for the lead with Lauren Coughlin of the United States. Shin is aiming for her second career LPGA Tour victory, 10 years after the 2016 Texas Shootout. Kim A-lim rose to sole third place at 5 under par. Kim Hyo-joo, who had drawn expectations as a contender after finishing runner-up in this event last year and in 2023 and tying for third in 2022, recorded a 3-over-par 75, ending the first day in a tie for 46th.
