LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship, first round leaderboard
(US unless stated):
-6 B Lincicome, S Lewis -5 M Miyazato (JPN), S Gal (Ger)
-4 J Park, C Arimura (JPN) -3 A Nordqvist (Swe), R Rankin, K Webb (Aus)
Lewis is seeking her first victory on the LPGA Tour |
American Stacy Lewis shot a six-under-par 66 to share the first-round lead at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.
Lewis and 2009 champion Brittany Lincicome head the field, with Sandra Gal of Germany and Japan’s Mika Miyazato a shot further back.
Lewis, yet to win on the tour, had to contend with temperatures that topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit in California.
“I don’t mind the heat,” she said. “I say bring it, as the ball goes a mile.”
Lewis made three straight birdies on the back nine immediately after her only bogey, hitting superb consecutive iron shots.
Lincicome, whose 2009 triumph remains her only major victory, revealed she was worried about the damage the heat could do to the course at Rancho Mirage.
“Being a course that I love and love to play, I’d hate for them to lose the greens,” said Lincicome. “Especially number one, and there was one other green turning brown, even – or purple, which can’t be good.”
Gal earned her first career win at last week’s Kia Classic and she chipped in from 15 yards on her fourth hole, putting together a solid round thanks to some impressive work on the greens.
“Even with your first win, you still don’t know what to expect coming into the next week,” said Gal.
“All the people that came to me and all the congratulations I received from everyone, which I really appreciate, was a lot. So I probably didn’t prepare as well as I would for a major championship normally.”
Australian Karrie Webb, who won this tournament in 2000 and 2006, shot a 69, while world number one and defending champion Yani Tseng of China finished with a two-under 70.
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Lewis shares lead in LPGA major