British Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn fired a six-under-par 65 to grab the lead after the first round of the Olympic women’s golf competition in Rio.
The talented 20-year-old from Thailand burst from the pack on a crowded leaderboard to set the standard on the Reserva de Marapendi Golf Course on a day when women’s golf made a return to the Olympics after a 116-year absence.
Victory and a gold medal this week would set the seal on a phenomenal year for Jutanugarn, who reeled off three wins in consecutive starts on the LPGA Tour, before landing a first major championship for Thailand in the British Women’s Open at Woburn just two weeks ago.
Jutanugarn collected seven birdies and an eagle, offset by a double-bogey and bogey, in lowering the best score over the new Gil Hanse-designed Olympic course, which stood at 66 for just two hours courtesy of South Korea’s Inbee Park.
Park, one of four South Korean players in the 60-strong field, was joined on 66 by her teammate, Sei Young Kim.
Three players, Nicole Broch Larsson of Denmark, Candie Kung of Chinese Taipei and Carlota Ciganda of Spain, forced their way into contention on 67, four-under-par, with a quarter of golfers on 68, including Great Britain’s Charley Hull, who is seeking to emulate Justin Rose’s gold medal performance in the men’s competition.
World No.1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand did her cause no harm by holing her nine iron second shot from 136 yards for an eagle two on the 15th, a stunning shot which helped her into a tie for 11th place on 69.
America’s Lexi Thompson, who shot a 68, summed up the players’ general reaction to playing for medals rather than prize money, by saying: “It is a whole different feeling to step on that tee and know that you’re an Olympian. There’s nothing like that. It was a real adrenaline rush. Hopefully, we’ll get more and more people out on that first tee as the days go by, but it was an amazing feeling to have.”
US teammate Stacey Lewis added: “You can’t even compare this to a major or the Solheim Cup. It has a really different feel about it. There are just 60 players here, and we’re are forever Olympians, and that’s cool.”
