MADEIRA, Ohio ‒ Nine birdies, one bogey and an opening round 64 for Xiyu Lin were good for the lead on Thursday in the inaugural Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G at Kenwood Country Club.
Lin, who started her tournament on the back nine, birdied five of the first six holes she played to shoot 30 on that side. The 26-year-old’s 8-under round was one shot off her career-low of 63.
“It’s nice to start with three birdies in a row,” Lin said. “The first hole, the approach shot, I mean, the fairway still a little bit wet, so I’m just glad I got the distance right. Then second hole I roll a putt in from outside of the green. And then third hole I knock it close again and make birdie. That was a dream start. You can’t ask for a better start.”
Lin said she could only play nine practice holes at Kenwood because of the weather that hit the course leading up to the tournament, but she walked all 18 holes on Tuesday with her caddie to familiarize herself with the course.
Another one for @JanetLinXiYu 🐦
With one hole left to play, she leads at -8.
Watch now on @GolfChannel! pic.twitter.com/fMiDj1wRAj
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 8, 2022
Nasa Hataoka shot a 7-under 65 during the morning wave and stands alone in second place.
Sarah Kemp and A Lim Kin shot 66, tied for third, followed by a group of six golfers tied in fifth with rounds of 67.
Gaby Lopez, who’s coming off a win last weekend in Toledo at the Dana Open, opened with a 4-under round of 68.
Gianna Clemente, a 14-year-old amateur who qualified for the tournament on Monday, shot 2-under 70, matching fellow amateur Emma McMyler, a junior at nearby Xavier University.
Americans Jessica Korda and Lexi Thompson struggled on Thursday. Korda was 2 under through 14 and finished with three bogeys in her final four holes to shoot 1 over. Thompson never really got anything going and finished without a birdie and four bogeys to shoot 76.
Paula Creamer had arguably the most interesting round on Thursday. Creamer’s scorecard included every number from one through six. Creamer shot even par and it was far from boring.
She had a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth, eagled the par-4 fifth, and doubled the par-4 16th.
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨
An eagle hole out and now a hole-in-one for @ThePCreamer?! 🤯
You don’t want to miss this coverage! ➡️ https://t.co/FvIDflvDYW pic.twitter.com/Me2HIuwNYm
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 8, 2022
“Goodness, if you look at my scorecard it’s all over the place,” Creamer said during a post-round interview.
When asked about the hole-out for eagle and the ace, Creamer said, “It was 155. It was just a nice little three-quarter 7-iron, and I hit it perfect, like how we wanted. Ended up going in. You know, and then the hole-out on five was 104 yards and hit a 52 just right at it. I think one bounce and went in. I hit my irons really well today. I made a lot of putting mistakes and did some mental errors here and there. Unfortunately, my scorecard is a roller coaster. But that’s golf.”
Thursday was Creamer’s second competitive event in over a year following the birth of her first child in January.
“I haven’t obviously played for a year and my body has changed. Everything has changed. I have a daughter. It’s a little different than coming back from an injury like I have in the past,” Creamer said. “But I’ve worked really hard and I know where my game is at. I’ve been playing well at home, and it’s just competition is just different out here.”
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