U.S. Women’s Open: 3 things to know after Round 1 at Pine Needles

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Eighteen holes are complete at the U.S. Women’s Open, and there’s plenty to get caught up on. Here are three things to know after Round 1 at Pine Needles.

Veteran on top

In 2007, Mina Harigae made her U.S. Women’s Open debut at Pine Needles as a 17-year-old amateur. Fifteen years later, she’s is back in the North Carolina Sandhills, and after 18 holes, she finds herself atop the leaderboard.

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Harigae posted a seven-under 64 on Thursday in sweltering conditions, using nine birdies to propel her to her lowest career major round.

“I was putting really well out there today,” she said. “I haven’t had any tournaments or rounds so far this year where I was putting confidently, so today was the first day.”

The 32-year-old is winless in 250 career starts on the LPGA Tour, and has never finished inside the top 10 at a major championship. She’s also seeking to become the first American to win the U.S. Women’s Open since Brittany Lang in 2016.

Amateur in the mix

Ingrid Lindblad was admittedly starstruck when she found out she’d be playing with fellow Swede Annika Sorenstam, but once the opening tee balls were struck, the 22-year-old amateur had no problem playing her own game.

Lindblad fired the lowest round in the championship’s history by an amateur during her opening round, posting a six-under 65 in the morning wave to hold the lead for much of Thursday.

“I hit a few shots close to the pin, and then my putting was great today,” Lindblad said. “[I] made a few par saves and made a few putts for birdies. It just worked from fairway to green.”

The LSU Tiger is seeking to become the first amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open since Catherine Lacoste in 1967.

Read more about Lindblad’s scorching start here.

Guess who’s back?

Nelly Korda is back in action this week for the first time in four months, and for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a blood clot in her arm in early April. And despite the competitive rust, her game looked as sharp as ever.

The world No. 2 opened her U.S. Women’s Open with a one-under 70 at Pine Needles, carding three birdies against one double to sit T18 after 18 holes.

“Overall I think all of it came together really well,” Korda said. “Hopefully I can continue building into the next couple of days.”

Korda will be back at it early tomorrow morning, drawing the late-early wave at Pine Needles, but she remains optimistic this can continue to be a fruitful return to competitive golf.

“Hopefully I can continue building into the next couple of days,” she said. “I’m just happy to be out here.”