Lewis makes late charge to top leader board in Beijing
Stacy Lewis from the U.S. proved why she is current World No. 1 with a faultless display of golf that sees her top the leaderboard after Round 1 of the Reignwood LPGA Classic, on a glorious day at the Pine Valley Golf Club in Beijing. (*Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, 29 September 2014).
A disappointed runner up at last year's tournament, Lewis shot two birdies on the front nine and a further five on the back nine with no bogeys to finish on seven under par 66 on the par-73 course. Speaking after her round, the beaming Floridian said:
"Early I got off to kind of a slow start. I made two long putts on three and four which kind of got things going, but really just a slow start. Just stayed patient all day. Was rewarded with that patience by birdieing four of the last five. I just really wanted to put up a good number today just going into the next few days where the weather might not be as good." She holds a single shot lead over Sweden's Caroline Hedwall who got off to a flying start with birdies on the first two holes, followed by a further five on her round. If it wasn't for a bogey on the par-4 fifth hole, she would share the overnight lead with Lewis.
Ranked 52 in the World Rankings, the Swede, who is yet to record a top-ten finish on tour this year added, "I'm really happy with my game today. I started off with two birdies and felt like I was on a roll there. I had quite a few birdie opportunities on the back nine and kept playing well. It was nice to finish off with a birdie as well. Just really happy."
Asked about her good record in Beijing, she added, "I just really like the golf course here. The greens are very nice. My key part of the game is tee to green, and suits me really well. The course has been in really nice shape. I just gain confidence playing a lot."
Tied in third place are Koreans Sun Young Yoo and Jenny Shin who both finished the day on five under par 68. A shot further back and tied in fifth place on four-under par are Spaniard Belen Mozo, Yani Tseng from Chinese Taipei, and Korean quartet Inbee Park, Haeji Kang, Ilhee Lee and Mi Hyang Lee. A member of the victorious Spanish team in the inaugural International Crown, the popular Mozo also enjoyed a strong start with four birdies on her front nine before dropping back later in the round.
But it was a day to forget for defending champion Shanshan Feng who finished the day at two over par 75, having started out with a birdie on the first hole, the World No. 9 dropped shots on the fourth, seventh and ninth holes to end the day tied in 52nd place.
But where the form of the local hero might have left fans disappointed, the weather certainly made up for it. After an initial thirty minute delay to the start of play due to overnight fog, the autumn sunshine soon showed Pine Valley in all its glory. With views of the Great Wall of China in the distance, the several thousand spectators who had made their way to the tournament were rewarded with a truly spectacular day.
Played on the Nicklaus Course at the Pine Valley Golf Club from 2 - 5 October 2014, the Reignwood LPGA Classic sees players compete for Asia's largest prize purse of US$ 2.1m in the 72-hole, no-cut tournament.
