Hur holds early lead in LPGA event
Mi Jung Hur topped the South Korean-dominated leaderboard Thursday in the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout, opening with a 5-under 66 in breezy conditions.
Hur made five straight birdies on the 15th to the first hole. The two-time LPGA Tour winner bogeyed the par-4 fifth and rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 eighth.
“My putting just was everything on the course today,” Hur said. “My shot wasn’t that good and my address wasn’t that comfortable, but my putting did really well.”
She lives in the area in McKinney.
“I used to live in Orlando, Florida, for seven, eight years,” Hur said. “Then we had a tournament here three years ago and I look around, it looks pretty nice to live. So I just asked my parents, `Can we move to Texas?’ We love it because there’s two big Korean towns nearby. We just moved right away.”
South Korean players held six of the top eight positions. So Yeon Ryu and Eun-Hee Ji were tied for second with American Gerina Piller at 67, and Sei Young Kim, Amy Yang, Jenny Shin and Scotland’s Catriona Matthew shot 68.
Piller, the U.S. Solheim Cup star who lives in nearby Plano, birdied four of her last seven holes.
Locally, Rachel Rohanna of Waynesburg opened with a 3-over par and sits tied for 84th.
Stuard leads suspended Zurich Classic: Brian Stuard shot an 8-under 64 to top the leaderboard in the suspended first round of the Zurich Classic.
The 33-year-old Stuard had only 21 putts in his bogey-free round at TPC Louisiana, finishing his final hole after a rain delay of nearly five hours. He’s winless on the PGA Tour.
None of the afternoon starters were able to finish before darkness suspended play.
Retief Goosen was second after a 65. The 47-year-old South African is a two-time U.S. Open champion.
Top-ranked Jason Day bogeyed his final two holes for a 69. The Australian is the first No. 1 player to play in the event since David Duval in 1999.
Locally, Steve Wheatcroft briefly held the clubhouse lead when rain stopped play. He finished at 3-under and is tied for 12th and is five strokes behind Stuard. Brendon Todd is 1-over and tied for 115th.