Thai teenager Ariya Jutanugarn fired a seven-under par 64 on Thursday to seize a two-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour’s Kingsmill Championship.
“Today, I played very good, so my putting helped me a lot,” said Ariya, whose nine birdies more than countered the only blemish on her card, a double-bogey five at the par-three 17th.
“I made a lot of putts, but today I still missed on my driver and long irons.”
The 17-year-old, who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, had a two-shot lead over US veteran Cristie Kerr.
It was a further stroke back to South Korea’s Ryu So-Yeon and Dewi Claire Schreefel of the Netherlands on 67.
World number one Park In-Bee and number two Stacy Lewis were among a group of 14 players sharing fourth place on three-under 68.
Ariya, of Bangkok, captured her first professional title in March, when she claimed a three-shot win at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco on the Ladies European Tour.
