“Yeah, it was great, had a great crowd following us too,” said Korda. “Obviously with Brooke winning last week and Minjee playing so well this year, it was a lot of fun to play against them and playing with them, especially with the caliber of golf they have been playing.”
Korda, the second-ranked player in the world, carded a 5-under 67 to finish tied for fifth. She averaged an astounding 282 yards off the tee, hitting 10 fairways and 15 greens in regulation.
Starting on the 10th hole, the last of Korda’s seven birdies occurred on the par-3, 181-yard eighth hole. Gripping a 7-iron, Korda put it on a string to the center of the green, falling feet 4-5 short of the pin. She neatly finished the birdie putt, all set up by a tee shot destined for the hole.
Not to be outdone, the fourth-ranked Lee also finished with a 67. Lee carded eight birdies, yet was undone by an errant drive into the right side woods on the par-5 seventh hole, culminating in a double bogey. Henderson, who championed last week’s CPKC Canadian Women’s Open, ended with a 1-under 71.
Despite their strong outings, the field looks up the leaderboard at Sei Young Kim, Allisen Corpuz, and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who each finished with a 7-under-par 65.
“This is just a course I’ve seen a ton of birdies on the last year and today, so just trying to keep the pedal down and just keep trying to hit good shots,” said Corpuz, who tallied eight birdies, including three in a row on Nos. 15 through 17. “Staying in the moment, just one after another.”
It was no day at the beach for Worcester’s Brittany Altomare, who shot 76.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Kim birdied three of the four par-5s, taking advantage of a scorching-hot short game. Kim noted that her short game improved leaps and bounds, closely watching PGA Tour stars Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood and incorporating their tricks into her game.
“I made a lot of putts, especially today,” said Kim. “And keep [it on] the fairway and just on the green, kind of very simple play today.”
Ewart Shadoff caught fire on the final four holes, birdieing each of them to vault firmly into contention.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand shot 3-under-par 69.
Miranda Wang followed a similar script, roaring to life after the turn to transform a 1-over 37 after starting on the back nine into an astonishing 7-under 29 on the front nine. Circles littered her scorecard, with eight birdies and a bogey down the stretch. She sits alone in fourth place at 6 under par.
“Usually what I think I want to do out there is a bogey-free round, but today it’s a par-free half of the round, so it’s an amazing experience,” said Wang, who totaled seven one-putts. “My putting was doing really well and also I was happy with my iron shots. Ball striking felt good. I was really focused, didn’t really think about the score.”
Lexi Thompson didn’t have an awful day with a 71, but her tee shot on the second hole was not to her liking.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Defending champion Haeran Ryu set herself up well in the afternoon, ending with a 3-under 69. Her playing partners, twins Akie and Chisato Iwai, commanded a presence of Japanese fans. Both Akie and Chisato finished with a 2-under 70.
“Sometimes it happens like this, so it was very fun,” said Akie, on playing with her twin.
Fans showed their support in multiple ways: a man proudly carried a Japanese flag; another woman sported a shirt with the twins on it, with Akie in light blue and Chisato in bright pink to match the color of their drivers and golf bags.
Their father, Yuji, called the experience of his daughters playing together as double the stress. Walking in front for every shot in yellow shorts, a black hat, and dark sunglasses, he beamed with pride and loudly clapped as Chisato stuck her approach on the par-4 14th hole to 2 feet.
Both rookies, Chisato and Akie each own one career win and are both ranked in the top 32 of the Rolex Rankings. Off the course, their relationship flourishes. The pair are Dallas Cowboys fans after Chisato played a round with Cowboys special teams players Brandon Aubrey, Bryan Anger, and Trent Sieg. They are musically inclined, with Akie playing the guitar and Chisato enjoying singing.
During the round, it’s all golf. Conversation remained at a minimum and about mundane things, such as how their golf shoes felt. The twins ackowledged there was a touch of competition involved.
“If you get a birdie, I would try next hole, I want to make a birdie,” said Chisato. “It’s very good inspiration.”
Westborough’s Alexa Pano opened with a 73.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.
