WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN:TAIWAN'S YANI Tseng, a two-time major winner, produced a birdie, eagle finish yesterday to share the first round lead with Australian Katherine Hull on four-under-par 68.
With the wind easing over the Royal Birkdale links in the late afternoon, the 22-year-old Tseng managed to hit all 18 greens and by rolling home a 20-foot putt for the eagle at the long 18th she completed the day’s only bogey-free round.
Hull also finished in style. A late starter, she rammed home a 60-foot putt in the late evening gloom on the final green for an eagle and her best ever start to a major championship.
American Brittany Lincicome, France’s Anne-Lise Caudal and South Koreans Yoo Sun-young and Yang Amy all shot 69.
Best of the Irish competitors after the first round was amateur Danielle McVeigh, who finished with an eagle on the par-five 18th hole yesterday for a two-over 74. Rebecca Coakley is five over, while Martina Gillen two shots further back.
Michelle Wie, who finished joint third when she made her British Open debut at Birkdale as a 15-year-old amateur, matched Tseng’s glorious finish – she also holed from 20 feet at the last – and stayed well in touch on 70.
World number one Shin Jiyai of South Korea was in the group on 71, but US Open champion Paula Creamer started with a 74.
“I played really solid and I just love this course,” said Tseng. “I just wish we played courses like this all the time. It keeps you focused and makes you think. You don’t think about what’s happened or what might happen, you have to concentrate on every single shot.”
Hull’s only win on the LPGA Tour came in the 2008 Canadian women’s Open and she has never finished higher than 40th in her five previous British Opens.
“I had a long talk with my caddy last week and decided I had become a little lazy with my routine,” said the 28-year-old.
Wie, still to fulfil her early promise, said: “It was a good day. I bogeyed the first but stayed patient and had lots of birdie chances. The finish was great.”
Meanwhile, Cavan teenager Leona Maguire has withdrawn from the Junior Ryder Cup because an already hectic playing schedule shows no signs of letting up for the remainder of the season.
Leona, one half of the renowned Maguire twins along with sister Lisa, has made the difficult decision to withdraw in order to prioritise other individual tournaments rather than tee it up against the Americans in the team event.
The 15-year-old was selected for the European team after the twins played in the 2008 European team that lost heavily to the Americans at Bowling Green in Kentucky. Lisa wasn’t selected this time around.
This season Leona has focused on a number of prestigious tournaments including next week’s AIB Ladies Irish Open at Killeen Castle, the Ladies British Open Strokeplay Championship, Ladies Home Internationals and the Espirito Santo Trophy (World Cup for amateur ladies).
In addition, Leona will also compete in the Girls’ British Amateur Championship and Duke of York Trophy, which she qualified for as winner of the French under-21 Championship.
Leading First Round Scores
68 – Yani Tseng (Tai), Katherine Hull (Aus).
69 – Sun Young Yoo (Kor), Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra), Brittany Lincicome (USA), Amy Yang (Kor).
70 – Michelle Wie (USA), In-Kyung Kim (Kor).
71 – Stacy Prammanasudh (USA), Jiyai Shin (Kor), Juli Inkster (USA), Stacy Lewis
(USA), Brittany Lang (USA), Gwladys Nocera (Fra).
72 – Hee-Won Han (Kor), Inbee Park (Kor), Mindy Kim (Kor), Jee Young Lee (Kor), Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor), Lynnette Teresa Brooky (Nzl), Momoko Ueda (Jpn), Anna
Nordqvist (Swe), Carin Koch (Swe), Laura Davies, Hee Young Park (Kor), Janice Moodie.
