By: Max Bechtoldt
Shadow Creek played tough in round one of the T-Mobile Match Play event, with low scores hard to come by. In the end, Sei Young Kim walked away from the opening round with the lead at -6.
Shadow Creek isn’t just one of the gems of the LPGA Tour, but also of golf in America, and fans of the women’s game are lucky to be able to view it yearly. In this new format, it feels like we are getting a more accurate reading of the course. And that reading is, it is really tough.
Sei Young Kim has the current lead, with seven birdies and one bogey. When Kim is at her best she is tough to beat, and she was at that level today. Most of the low scores came from the morning wave, including Kim, which will be in the TV coverage tomorrow.
Danielle Kang took advantage of the home course advantage to play her best round of the year, shooting -5. Kang has fallen all the way to No. 59 in the Rolex Rankings, but with a strong result here can create some momentum that has been missing over the last couple of seasons. Kang lives in Las Vegas and plays most of her golf at Shadow Creek.
Tied with Kang in second place is Rose Zhang, who is now off her school schedule at Stanford and playing full time. After a disappointing missed cut in Arizona last week, she is firmly in contention now.
It is important to note, the important part of these first three rounds is finishing in the top eight, not necessarily grabbing the lead. So, that top eight includes Kim, Kang, Zhang, Minjee Lee, Yuka Saso, Anna Nordqvist, Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Caroline Masson. Not a bad group of players.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda really struggled with her ball striking in the opening round, looking for her fourth win in a row. Her putts looked solid but it wasn’t enough, as she shot +1.
The second round picks up tomorrow, airing on Golf Channel and Peacock at 6:00 est.
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