LPGA TOUR REPORT AND SCORES

KARINE ICHER (66) LEADS FOG-HIT 

"SWINGING SKIRTS" IN CALIFORNIA

FROM THE LPGA TOUR WEBSITE
The first round of the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at Daly City, California was suspended due to darkness at approximately 7:51 p.m. local time  with the final player getting off the course at 8:08p.m. 
The round, whose start was delayed two hours due to fog in the Bay Area, will pick back up at 7:00 a.m. local time Friday morning with tee times for the second round remaining the same. Seven groups have still to complete their first rounds. 

France's Karine Icher leads a group of five players, who are all in the clubhouse, by two strokes after firing an impressive opening-round 66 (-6).  

“It was just a good day.,” Icher said. “I’m happy about that.  I stayed confident all through the round.”
Catriona Matthew is T43 after an opening 73 which included bogeys at the first, sixth and 17th, partially offset by birdies at the short eighth and long 14th.
Other Brits on the 73 mark - Charley Hull and Jodi Ewart Shadoff. 

Big Day for Ko

Lydia Ko had a big day on Thursday and it had little to do with her stellar play on the course as early on Thursday, Ko was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. 

“You know, I just do what I love to do:  play good golf.  That’s where my confidence builds up.  Kind of be named in that top 100 of the most influential people in the world is huge,”  Ko said. 

“Top 100 in the country is big, but in the whole world, you know, it’s a huge honour, especially amongst the big names there.”

Some of the other big names joining Ko on the list include Pope Francis and Barack Obama.

While the off the course accolades were nice, Ko also put together a steady round of golf with six birdies against two bogeys en route to a 68 (-4) to sit two shots off the lead.   

On top of her solid play and accolade from TIME, Thursday was also Ko’s 17th birthday. Fans serenaded Ko with “Happy Birthday” on the first tee, several of her fellow players took to twitter to wish the 17-year old a happy birthday and the New Zealander was even greeted with a cake following the end of her round.  

Asked about being sung to on the first tee Ko replied.

“Kind of embarrassing, but then so happy that a lot of people knew about my birthday.  I was happy and thanked all the people there who were singing.”

Pressel Perseveres 

Morgan Pressel was able to post one of the low rounds of the day, a 69 (-3), despite struggling with her swing.  

“Yeah, it was actually a bit of a struggle out there,” Pressel admitted. “I’d say my short game definitely kept me in it.  I stayed patient.”  

Despite hitting a mere seven fairways, Pressel manged to sit in a tie for seventh thanks to a solid short game and a hot flatstick, needing only 28 putts on her round.    

“I didn’t hit the ball very well off the tee but I’m just going to go out there and work this afternoon,” Pressel said. “As poorly as I hit the ball, I’m right in it.  I’m grateful for that.”

Schreefel Solid on Day One

Dutch player Dewi Claire Schreefel put together one of the best rounds of the day with a 68 to sit in a five-way tie for second place. Schreefel was solid all day hitting 15-of-18 greens and needing 28 putts on her round to find herself two back of the lead heading into the second round.  

“Putter was really, really nice day.  I mean, when you make birdies you’re rolling the putter well,” Schreefel said. “All in all I played really well from tee to green.”

Despite the delay, Schreefel was able to stick to her gameplan and tie her low round of the season. 

“Well, I was luckily in bed when one of the other players texted me there was a delay,” Schreefel explained. “So I just had a pleasant morning where I’m staying.  I relaxed and kept to my routine and didn’t come out here earlier than I would.”
 

Quote of the Day

“Yeah, I think the strategy on this golf course is to stay short of the hole. It’s a tough golf course, especially with the wind and temperature.  Gets so cold.  You try to get to stay warm and try to catch the right wind and you go with it and make some putts.”

–Karin Icher talking about her opening round 66 and her strategy for the course. 

LEADERBOARD
Par 72 Players from USA unless stated
66 Karine Icher (France)
68 Lydia Ko (NZ), Ilhee Lee (S Korea), Jenny Shin (S Korea), Maria McBride-Hjorth (Sweden), Dewi-Claire Schreefel (Netherlands)
69 Stacy Lewis, Morgan Pressel, Christel Boeljon (Netherlands), Hyo Joo Kim (S Korea), Mo Martin.
SELECTED SCORES
70 Suzann Pettersen (Norway) (T12)
72 Michelle Wie, Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) (T24)
73 Jodi Ewart Shadoff (England), Charley Hurley (England), Sandra Gal (Germany), Catriona Matthew (Scotland) (T43)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE