Rookie Somi Lee takes sole lead on day one of LPGA Mizuho Americas Open

‘Rookie’ Lee So-mi (25, Daebang Construction) took the lead on the first day of the LPGA Tour Mizuho Americas Open (total prize money of $3 million).

Somi Lee recorded 6 under par 65 strokes with 8 birdies and 2 bogeys in the first round of the tournament held at Liberty National Golf Club (par 71) in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA on the 17th (Korean time).

Somi Lee started the competition as the sole leader by placing her name at the top of the leaderboard. She is two strokes behind Andrea Lee (USA), Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines), Mao Saigo (Japan), and Gabriela Ruppels (Australia, 4 under par, 68 strokes), who are tied for second place.

Somi Lee, who recorded a total of 5 wins on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) regular tour, took on the challenge of competing on the American stage this season. She secured the right to participate by placing second overall in the LPGA Q Series held in December last year.

However, since his official debut, his performance has not been very good. In the six competitions he had played before this competition, he missed the cut four times and never made the 'top 10'. His personal best result was a tie for 13th at the LA Championships.

In this competition, he started his first round in a position where he could expect to win along with his personal best performance.

Somi Lee, who started the game at the 10th hole (par 5), got off to a good start by catching a birdie from the first hole. After that, he made birdies in 3 consecutive holes starting from the 13th hole (par 5), and after a bogey at the 16th hole (par 4), he immediately made up for it at the 17th hole (par 4), reducing 4 strokes in the first half alone. The momentum continued in the second half. He made his second bogey of the day in the 2nd hole (par 3), but made up for it with consecutive birdies in the 4th hole (par 3) and 5th hole (par 4) and rose to the sole lead. Afterwards, he finished the game with one more stroke less in the 8th hole (par 5). Shin Ji-eun (32, Hanwha Q CELLS) also started the game at the top. On this day, he recorded 3 under par 69 with 4 birdies and 1 bogey, tying for 6th place with Celine Boutier (France), Lee Min-ji (Australia), and Megan Kang (USA). Ko Jin-young (29, Solaire), who has the highest world ranking among Korean players at 5th place, recorded 2 under par 70 on the first day and started in a tie for 18th place. Lee Mi-hyang (31, Volvik) also marked the same ranking. Nelly Korda (USA), who returned after failing to win her sixth consecutive individual title last week, also started the first day in a tie for 18th place. Meanwhile, Rose Jang (USA), winner of the Founders Cup last week and the defending champion of this tournament, withdrew. Rose Jang said on his SNS, “This competition, which was his first win in his debut, holds a special place in my heart, but unfortunately I have suffered severe intestinal pain for the past 12 hours.” 고스톱