Yealimi Noh started her round at the Amundi Evian Championship with an eagle on the par-4 first hole, and now she sits comfortably at the top of the leaderboard with Pajaree Anannarukarn after each shot 6-under 65.
Noh had 126 yards to the flag and decided to hit a soft 9-iron.
“Actually my playing partners, they both stuck it, so I was like, Oh, I hope I stick it, too,” said Noh who played with German players Olivia Cowan and Aline Krauter, the latter an amateur from Stanford.
Her ball hit one of the many slopes on the green, and at first, Noh thought her ball trickled over.
“I didn’t want to be left out,” Noh said after both Cowan and Krauter had close birdie putts, “and it went in, so it was nice.”
Noh credits her T-3 last week at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and mentoring from her partner A Lim Kim to her opening round at the Evian.
“It was good momentum,” Noh said. “I learned a lot from A Lim and I took a lot of positives from her just like her attitude on the course and just how she carries herself, so it was really nice to see that.”
Full-field scores from The Amundi Evian Championship
Noh first played in the Evian Championship in 2019 and finished T-44.
“I just forgot how amazing it was,” she said. “When I’m frustrated during the round you look to the left or to the right and you see the lake and it just calms you down. So happy to be here. It’s amazing.”
The early co-leader would love to begin her round similarly on Friday: “Starting with an eagle would be great.”
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