Mirim Lee birdied eight of her final 12 holes on Thursday to take the first round lead of the U.S. Women’s Open at Cordevalle.
The 25 year-old South Korean fired an 8-under 64, and finds herself 3 shots up on Minjee Lee, Amy Yang and 2007 U.S. Open winner Cristie Kerr, who are all tied for second at 5-under par.
“The course is perfect now,” Lee said in a media scrum after her round. “Greens are really fast. I just try make par, yeah, that’s it.”
Kelly Tan, Brittany Lang, and Anna Nordqvist are tied for the 5th spot at 4-under.
The marquee threesome of Lydia Ko (+1), Lexi Thompson (+2), and Brooke Henderson (+4) under-performed to say the least, combining for an aggregate score of 7-over par.
Leaderboard
Mirim Lee (-8), Minjee Lee (-5), Cristie Kerr (-5), Amy Yang (-5), Kelly Tan (-4), Brittany Lang (-4), Anna Nordqvist (-4)
Notables
Ariya Jutanugarn (-2), Christina Kim (-2), Stacy Lewis (-1), Suzann Pettersen (E), Karrie Webb (+1), Se Ri Pak (+1), Paula Creamer (+2), Michelle Wie (+3), Brittany Lincicome (+3)
Quotes from Leaders
“The wind wasn’t bad today. I had fun.”
Mirim Lee
I knew when I found the driver this week that it just felt so much like my old driver and we found the right combination and even if I missed a little bit I could feel what I did wrong, I could feel the difference. Like I said, I’m just happy that we worked it out.”
Cristie Kerr
“I felt like I was really solid, like my iron play was really solid. And if I missed my drives, it was sort of just on the first cut or maybe just in the rough. So I thought I striked the ball really well today. I gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie.”
Minjee Lee
Number of the Day
Mirim Lee's 8-under 64 ties the lowest score to par in a round in #USWomensOpen history. pic.twitter.com/mLD0ZYPnoZ
— USGA (@USGA) July 7, 2016
Putt of the Day
Mirim Lee's 10th birdie of the day just capped off the fifth 64 in #USWomensOpen history. https://t.co/IPiSyY7Lh6
— USGA (@USGA) July 7, 2016
