Marina Alex posted a 5-under-par 66 in the opening round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club, and leads after round one.
Alex recorded six birdies against a lone bogey on her round, and afterwards she credited her putting.
“I putted unbelievably well today. I rolled it so good. So I hope I can just carry that into the next couple days and just tidy up the ball-striking a little bit,” Alex said.
One off the lead is the duo of Holly Clyburn and In Gee Chung, who both shot 4-under 65.
“I’m always happy to play in Canada,” said Chun, who posted the only bogey-free round on Thursday. “All the spectators, Canadian people like sports. They are so kind. They’re really fun. So I’m always happy to play in Canada.”
Clyburn got to 65 in dramatic fashion: with a hole-out eagle putt at the par-5 ninth.
“I’ve just been waiting for something to drop like that all day,” said Clyburn. “I played solid all day, and that was just a nice present on the last.”
A logjam of seven players were at 3-under 68, headlined by former CP Women’s Open champion Brittany Linciome.
Hometown favorite Brooke Henderson struggled with her putter on Thursday and finished with a disappointing 3-over 74.
“I hit a lot of fairways, gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie and they just didn’t fall today,” said Henderson, who carded only one birdie to two bogeys and a double. “That can happen, and just hopefully I can just be a little bit better.”
THE LEADER’S SCORECARD
TOP 10: ROUND ONE
1 Marina Alex -5
2 Holly Clyburn-4
2 In Gee Chun -4
3 Brittany Lincicome -3
3 Shanshan Feng -3
3 Sei Young Kim -3
3 Angel Yin -3
3 Sher. Santiwiwatthanaphong -3
3 Haeji Kang -3
3 Pavarisa Yoktuan -3
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: MARINA ALEX
.@Marina_Deee rollin in the putts today!
Watch highlights from the current leader of #CPWO pic.twitter.com/YtN1iXe2iM— LPGA (@LPGA) August 24, 2017
QUOTABLE: MARINA ALEX
“They were rolling unbelievably well. Really quick. The nice thing is they’re still a bit soft, so the shots are holding into the greens, so it kind of makes for a good combo. You can hit shots in there pretty tight, and then you have really nice pace to hold them.”
