Reid's ace can't match Park's 63

ROGERS -- LPGA Tour rookie Sung Hyun Park of China raced to the top of the leaderboard Friday in the opening round of the Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club.

Park shot a 5-under 31 on the front nine on her way to a 8-under 63 to grab a two-stroke lead over fellow rookie Melissa Reid of England, two-time Mississippi State All-American Ally McDonald and Tour veteran So Yeon Ryu of South Korea,

Five players, including former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville standout Stacy Lewis and 56-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer Juli Inkster are tied for fifth place at 66.

Park, 23, needed 24 putts to complete the first round as she just missed tying the tournament record of 62 set most recently in last year's first round by Ayako Uehara. Angela Park and Jane Park each shot 62 in the 2008 tournament, but like Uehara, neither won the championship.

"My play was best with putter today, very good," said Park, currently ranked eighth in the Rolex World Golf Rankings.

Park finished tied for third at the 2016 U.S. Women's Open and tied for second at the year's final major, the Evian Championship. She already has nine top-20 finishes in 2017.

Reid's round was highlighted at the 11th where she made a hole-in-one that pushed her to 8 under. The 29-year-old from England made the turn at 5 under but made bogey on the 13th and 16th following the ace.

"As soon as I hit it I thought, 'Oh, it's got a chance," Reid said of her ace. "It just pitched a little longer than we thought. I just hit a little 9-iron, so I think it was 135 [yards]. I just tried to play a 130 shot and it pitched about 7 [feet] behind it and came back.

Reid, ranked 99th in the world, has missed five of eight cuts this year.

She finished her 2016 season playing in the Women's British Open in July, just a week after representing England in the International Crown where she nearly single handedly defeated Mika Miyazato and Haru Nomura of Japan in a fourball match when her partner Charley Hull became ill the night before.

McDonald, No. 215 in the Rolex rankings and 94th in tour earnings with $44,566, has tied for 30th twice in her second season the LPGA Tour -- at the Volvik Championship in May and in the Australian Open in February.

She also has top-10 finishes in the past two El Dorado Shootouts on the Symetra Tour, 10th in 2016 and 2nd as an amateur in 2015.

"I think I gave myself a lot of opportunities," McDonald said. "On the first hole, I three-putted for bogey, and then on the back nine I left out two putts for birdie and missed a 45-footer for eagle on the last hole. I'm glad to get a good, solid round for the first round."

Ryu, the world's third-ranked player, led the afternoon wave with four birdies on the back nine to get to 65. Ryu's best finish in Rogers came in 2013 when she finished second to Inbee Park.

There was a 45-minute weather delay for lightning, then rain, that caught players early in the afternoon wave. A stronger wind greeted them after the delay, something players in the morning draw didn't experience as they played under more humid conditions.

"You know, the draw is, to be honest just pure luck," Ryu, 26, said of her afternoon slot compared to the better scores from the morning rounds. "But sometimes, even with the crazy wind, you're able to hit like 8-under par. Even with a nice sunny day, you cannot hit even 3-under par. So I try not to just not think about the draw too much."

Lewis was in the fifth group going off No. 10 in the morning, and she made the turn at 1 under after a birdie on the par-5 18th. She made birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 before reaching 5 under with birdies on 5 and 8.

"I knew I was hitting a lot of good shots, and that's what I just kept telling myself and finally found some good rhythm with the putter and that was the difference in the nine holes," said Lewis, who hasn't won on the LPGA Tour since winning this tournament in 2014. "I think the putts on 1 and 2 are what calmed me down. I told myself, 'You're going to be OK today and you can make some putts,' and got into a good ball-striking rhythm after that.

Defending champion Lydia Ko, the second-ranked player in the world, managed a 1-under 70 in the 0pening round.

Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) survived a double bogey at the par-4 eighth to finish at 3-under 68, which left her tied for 19th heading into today's second round. Alana Uriell (Razorbacks), the lone amateur in the field shot a even-par 71. Emily Tubert is tied for 88th after a 72, while Regina Plasencia (Razorbacks), one of two Monday qualifiers, had one birdie on her way to a 9-over 80.

Sports on 06/24/2017