Australian duo Grace Kim and Gabriela Ruffels are in a five-way share of the first round lead at the Evian Championship in France following six-under par rounds of 65.
Kim and Ruffels are joined at the top of the leaderboard by Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Andrea Lee as well as Ireland’s Leona Maguire, while fellow Australian Minjee Lee is only one shot off the lead.
Kim and Ruffels were the only two of the five leaders to be bogey free in the opening round.
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The Australian pair were incredibly steady, reeling off six birdies apiece, while Maguire made a hole-in-one at the par 3 second and Kupcho finished her round with an eagle at the par 5 ninth.
Kim, the 24-year-old Sydneysider, provided a highlight of her own with a hole-out from a bunker at the second.
But it was a wardrobe malfunction that Kim laughed off casually that was the main talking point from her stellar opening round.
“Yeah, so on 7 I just was just going to the bathroom like normal and then my fly wouldn’t come back up. So I had 6-under with a busted fly,” she said with a laugh.
“I hit the green and I like didn’t even really appreciate that I hit the green in two on a par-5, and then, yeah, made two putt birdie. I was too worried about my fly.”
LEADERBOARD: All the scores from the Evian Championship
Asked about why is it that Australian golfers have such an impressive record at Evian-les-Bains with Women’s PGA champion Lee having claimed her first major title there in 2021 and the great Karrie Webb, Wendy Doolan and Rachel Teske all having won at the venue before the championship was considered a major, Kim issued a warning to the rest of the field.
Although, it did come with yet another chuckle at the end.
“I think we’re all pretty self-sufficient in the sense we don’t always need to hit off like firm, flat grounds. We know how to work different lies and different, yeah, angles and wind directions,” Kim said of Australian golfers.
“Obviously it’s quite tight off the tees on some holes, so I think we’re pretty patient in a sense with that.
“But at the same time, we’re very skilful, so, yeah, I guess come at us.”
Ruffels, meanwhile, was very pleased with her “super solid” opening round.
“Only missed two greens out there. Ball striking was really good,” she said.
“Been working hard on that with my coach. And then the putting was good, too.
“I made some good long putts and then was pretty solid inside ten feet as well. So, yeah, that added up to a pretty good score.”
Ruffels’ impressive showing came after a return to her roots, of sorts.
The 25-year-old from Melbourne was once Australia’s top ranked junior tennis player and comes from an elite sporting family with her older brother Ryan also a professional golf, while her parents Ray Ruffels and Anna Maria Fernandez were both professional tennis players.
It has that connection to tennis that helped her tick off what she described as a “bucket list” experience at Wimbledon.
“I went with my boyfriend and also we went kind of as guests of Todd Woodbridge, who was a doubles champion and really good friends with my dad. My dad coached him throughout his whole career,” Ruffels said.
“So it was nice meeting up with them. He got us into the member’s only area which was so cool. It was such a cool experience. Yeah, it’s just kind of like a perspective switch as well from golf to kind of get in the tennis world.”
Minjee Lee is alone in sixth place on five-under after making four birdies in her last seven holes to card a 65.
The world number six is among the title favourites in France this week after sealing her third major crown last month in the women’s PGA Championship.
She is targeting a second Evian success after her maiden triumph in 2021, although she has not finished in the top 10 in any of her other nine appearances.
“Obviously I’ve played many years at the same venue in Evian and all the other majors we kind of go to new venues each time. I think I feel like I just remember a lot more here just from my very first time being here in ‘14 and then obviously winning in ’21,” Lee said.
“I feel like as the years go by this (becomes) a blur but all the memories and vibes come back obviously every time I am back, once I’m here.”
Fellow Australians Stephanie Kyriacou (-1), Hira Naveed and Robyn Choi (E) made good starts to the fourth women’s major of the year, while Hannah Green, Cassie Porter (+2) and Karis Davidson (+3) will need to bounce back to make the cut.
– Hull withdraws –
England’s Charley Hull withdrew from the Evian Championship after collapsing during her first round on Thursday, reportedly due to a virus.
The 29-year-old twice collapsed on the fourth tee, her 13th hole, and was taken from the course on a medical cart.
The BBC reported her management team said she was “battling a virus” but is recovering well.
Hull had played the first 12 holes in one-under par.
The world number 19 has never won a major championship despite a series of near-misses, including three runner-up finishes.
