LPGA: Karrie Webb Out In Front at Women’s Champions
Karrie Webb. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
The Serapong Course at the Sentosa Golf Club was all that Inbee Park predicted for the first round of the HSBC Women’s Champions. There was wind. There was water everywhere. The greens were fast and the pin placements tricky. Aussie Karrie Webb, 40-time LPGA winner, fresh from her triumph at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, was up to the challenge. Webb fired off four of her six 1st round birdies on the front nine, pulled ahead of early leader, American Paula Creamer, beat back Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, and went to the clubhouse at five-under-par and a one shot lead going into the 2nd round.
The Top of the Board
There’s still a lot of golf to be played in Singapore, but the top of the leaderboard isn’t quite as crowded as it was going into the second round at the Honda LPGA Thailand or the Women’s Australian Open. Course conditions are holding players back. Birdies are a bit more scarce. Greens are hard to read.
Inbee Park.
". . . the greens were a little bit quicker today than in the practice round and with the dry weather it’s going to get tougher and tougher, so you have to get used to the greens . . . Inbee Park, Rolex Ranked No. 1"
Watch the second round putting action. If Stacy Lewis, who’s going into the round at +3 and well down on the board, can get those greens figured out she’ll be able to put herself back in contention.
Creamer and Hedwall, who are at -5 and sharing the 2nd slot on the board, managed the greens quite nicely during the 1st round. They both carded flawless, bogey-free rounds. If conditions hold, they’ll be playing the 2nd round with that advantage.
Paula Creamer. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Chinese Taipei’s Theresa Lu and American Angela Stanford, starting the 2nd round at -4 and sharing the 4th slot on the board, put some bogeys on their cards. Did they learn enough yesterday to exchange those bogeys for some birdies?
Filling out the top of the leaderboard and starting round two within four shots of Karrie Webb’s lead, Spain’s Azahara Muñoz will start the 2nd round at -3 and an international quintet is bunched up at -2: Americans Danielle Kang and Gerina Piller, South Koreans Amy Yang and Inbee Park, and Germany’s Caroline Masson.
The Top-Ranked Players
Lexi Thompson. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Among the top Rolex Ranked players, only Inbee Park is positioned to move into a second round position of dominance. Number 2-ranked Suzann Pettersen and number 5-ranked So Yeon Ruy, 8th ranked Na Yeon Choi and 9th ranked Lexi Thompson all carded a first round scores of 71. Stacy Lewis, Rolex Ranked 3 and defending her Women’s Champions 2013 title, is struggling. She’ll go into the 2nd round at +3. Number 4-ranked Lydia Ko had trouble reading the greens as well and will start the 2nd round one shot over par.
Fan Picks
Although she played the first round with occasional moments of brilliance, American Michelle Wie went to the clubhouse with a 73 and goes into the 2nd round trailing Karrie Webb’s lead by 7 strokes.
American Jessica Korda, who started the season with a hot win at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic has dropped steadily down the leaderboard since that victory. She finished in a tie for 19th place at the Women’s Australian Open and in a tie for 36th place at the LPGA Thailand last week. Korda, who’s celebrating her 21st birthday this week and enjoying the company of her boyfriend, is starting the second round at the Women’s Champions alongside Stacy Lewis, at +3.
With Beatriz Recari‘s withdrawal, Singaporean amateur Amanda Tan finished the first round at the very bottom of the leaderboard and will start the 2nd round at +7. But the teenager’s taken a huge step if her goal is a career in pro golf. She’s playing on the big stage for the first time. Let’s see if she can move up a bit in the 2nd round!
Singapore is 12-17 hours ahead of the continental United States, and so the 2nd round of the Women’s Champions will tee off as Americans are beginning to think about sleeping. The Golf Channel will again provide coverage beginning at 10:30pm ET tonight. Don’t miss the 2nd round putting contest. Take another nap!