MAINVILLE, Ohio — Chanette Wannasaan escaped swing funk and shot a 9-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead on the Kroger Queen Metropolis Championship on Thursday.
Wannasaen stopped the Eagle’s nine-iron shot on the par 4 tenth and scored seven birdies within the morning spherical at Soggy TPC River’s Bend.
“In actual fact, I am enjoying rather well right this moment,” Wanasaan mentioned. “After AIG (Ladies’s British Open), I wrestle a bit with my swing so I can not hit it like a stable shot.”
The 21-year-old Thai participant may have two LPGA Tour victories, the 2023 Portland Traditional and the 2024 Dana Open.
American Gigi Stole got here in second with 65. She performed 4 par 5 holes with 5 on the eleventh and three birdies with Eagle.
“I feel they’re a little bit shorter than normal, so enjoying par 5s nicely right here could be an enormous benefit,” Stole mentioned. “I rolled the ball right this moment.”
Say Younger Kim had one other stroke with Patty Tabatanakit, Lim Kim, Payuyun Chien, Kunkan Park and Jenny Bae.
Second ranked Nelly Corda was the highest of the group with 67. She is on the lookout for her first LPGA title of the yr after successful seven instances in 2024.
“I made some putts right here and there,” Korda mentioned. “Total, every thing was flowing and the climate was massive. There was actually no wind. So it may very well be a bit softer and a bit extra aggressive in a saturated state.”
Charlie Hull opened at 68. She completed runner-up in Houston as a part of the Aramco sequence on the Ladies’s Europe Tour.
“I performed fairly stable final week, however clearly I’ve returned to the LPGA this week in my first week,” Hal mentioned. “Hopefully we are able to get decrease within the subsequent few days.”
High ranked Jeeno Thitikul Shot 69 and defending champion Lydia Ko opened at 70.
Allison Lee has scored 76 in her first begin since giving start to a boy in April.
