PAUSE COLLE, Wales – Riotekeda overcomes a double bogey with four birdies on the final seven holes for a 5-under 67 on Thursday, sharing the lead with Eli Okayama in the women’s opening featuring Japanese surges and complicated days at Lottie Ward.
The Japanese player scored the top three spots on the Royal Port Call, bringing Yamasita Palace to 68. The other three were among the top 12 after the opening round, when the wind didn’t go down but about half of the field was par or more.
Takada, one of the 20 players to win the LPGA Tour this year, won a double bogey on the par 5 9th hole. Okayama, who plays the Japanese LPGA, hit fairway metal 12 feet on No. 17 for his final birdie.
Woad started the month as the number one amateur in women’s golf. She won the Women’s European Tour, missed the playoffs on one shot in the LPGA majors, and won the Women’s Scotland Open against a strong field in her professional debut.
She was a betting favorite in the final major of the year, staying in the mix with Birdie in par 5 18th place, and was 72 years old.
Woad played alongside Defending Champion Lydia Ko (73) and Lilia Vu, the winners of the double major two years ago.
“We had a fair amount of birdies. There were a few poor bogeys on the front nine that we definitely could avoid,” Woad said. “It’s nice to finish off par and birdie at the end. It’s definitely one of the rounds that I managed to get away from me. I’m happy how we hanged out there and put together a decent round.”
Nelly Korda has been at risk for the No. 1 ranking for the past 16 months, having early bogeys, maintaining the remaining cards, adding three birdies to 70 people.
“When you make the wrong decision, you sometimes need to gain good luck. You need to bail out yourself,” says Korda, looking for his first victory of the year after seven titles last season.
Korda and Ward played in the afternoon when the wind began to blow hard from the Bristol Channel and faced a quick turnaround before starting the second round in the morning.
Mao Saigo, who won the first LPGA Major of the Year in the Chevron Championship, and Chizer Toywai, the winner of the Riviera Maya Open, were in a large group of 69 years old.
Rhodes grew up playing on the Bristol Channel, where she came over a month ago and Royal Porte Cole was seen before the first female opening. The wind was strong that day, so Thursday felt more manageable.
“The members said it was the windiest thing I’d ever seen, so I played it with a lot of wind,” Rhodes said. “Yeah, maybe I played it when it was the toughest, and now I just think it’s easy.”