7th place in Ford 1R with 7 under par…a two-shot lead from the lead

Kim Hyo-joo tied eight birdies and one bogey in the first round of the tournament at Seville Golf and Country Club (par 72) in Gilbert, Arizona, on the 29th (Korea time) and recorded a 7-under 65.

Kim Hyo-joo started the first round in a tie for seventh place, two strokes behind the lone leader, Pazari Anan Narugarn (Thailand, 9-under 63).

In general, her putts fell off well. She successfully played 4-6 meters birdie putts at Hole 7 (par 4), Hole 13 (par 4), and Hole 15 (par 4). She garnered birdie by banking on her sharp iron shot at the 10th (par 4), and easily garnered birdie by sending chip shots near the pin at Hole 16 (par 4).

Kim Hyo-joo, who finished with a birdie because her eagle putt was slightly short on the last 18th hole (par 5), laid the groundwork for the championship competition.

Kim displayed 100 percent fairway performance (14/14) on the day, while her accuracy rate on the green was also high at 77.78% (14/18). Even though she put the ball on the green 14 times, she only putts 26, indicating how successful her putts have been.

Kim Hyo-joo will try to win seven LPGA Tour titles in five months after the Voluntiers of America Classic in October 2023.

Shin Ji-eun (32) tied for ninth with seven birdies and one bogey for a 6-under 66.

Kim Se-young (31) and Annarin (28) tied for 20th with 5-under 67, while rookie Im Jin-hee (26) tied for 32nd with 4-under 68.

Anan Narugarn led the way with only nine birdies without a bogey, and Lilia Bu (USA), who gave Nelly Koda the world's No. 1 player, shot an 8-under 64 to tie for second with Carlota Cigida (Spain).

World No. 3 Celine Boutier of France tied for seventh with Kim Hyo-joo at 7-under 65.

Koda, who achieved her second win of the season first and recaptured the world No. 1 last week, shot a 6-under 66, tying for ninth to start the first round. Koda will try to win three consecutive tournaments in her tournament for the first time in about eight years since Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) in 2016. Koda won the first Pak Se-ri Championship in two months following the drive-on championship in January.

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