Michelle Wie carded a 7-under-par 65 Thursday to take a three shot lead after the opening-round of the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg.After making the turn at 3-under-par, the 20-year old holed a 5-iron from 181 yards for the second LPGA ace of her career. The hole-in-one on No. 11 propelled Wie to 5-under-par to that point giving her sole possession of the lead. Despite a bogey at No. 12, she rallied with three birdies in her final six holes, including the 17th hole where she holed out from the greenside bunker.
“I just went out there and tried to go out there and have fun and focus on every shot,” Wie said following her round. “I didn't really think about my score. I just went out there and tried to hit every shot as best I could. The crowds were awesome. The people out there were cheering pretty loudly. It was just really fun today.”
Wie holds the first-round lead for the second time in her career dating back to the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open, where she went on to tie for 23rd.
Sarah Kemp took the early lead with a 4-under-par 68 and now trails Wie by three shots. The 25-year-old Australian is searching for her first top-10 as a member of the LPGA. “You just gotta stay patient, and I think that's what I've learned over the years,” she said. “Good things are going to happen if you just keep putting yourself in situations.” Kemp shined as an amateur in Australia before joining the Ladies European Tour (LET). A rookie on the LPGA in 2008, Kemp’s career-best finish came at the 2009 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic where she tied for 12th.
Defending CN Canadian Women’s Open champion and Rolex Rankings No. 3 Suzann Pettersen put herself in contention to defend her title and earn her first victory of 2010 by recording four birdies and a bogey en route to a 3-under par 69. The six-time LPGA Tour winner is currently four-strokes behind Wie heading into Friday’s second round.
If not for a ball-snatching tree on hole 16, Alexis Thompson’s day might have been a bit more enjoyable. The 15-year-old shot 1-under-par 71 on Thursday, but it was her seventh hole of the day – the 395-yard, par-4 16th – that left her in disbelief when her drive flew into a tree and never came down. She returned to the tee and finished the hole with double bogey, derailing an otherwise promising start. Thompson salvaged an under-par day with the help of an eagle at the 503-yard, par-5 fifth hole where she hit seven-iron to 15 feet.
There’s no place like home for Toronto’s Seema Sadekar. The 25-year old, who now lives in Las Vegas, NV, fired an opening-round 1-over par 72 to lead the pack of 14 Canadians in this week’s field.
Sunny skies and windy conditions helped to make St. Charles Country Club a nail biting test for 46 of the top 50 LPGA professionals on Thursday. With temperatures in the low 80’s and wind gusts up to 45 kph, the already firm Winnipeg golf course was all the more difficult. Balls were hopping on the greens and skidding through fairways with only 24 of the 156-player field finishing the day in red numbers. Tomorrow calls for mostly sunny skies with windy and warm conditions.
