HSBC Women’s World Championship: unheralded Szokol returns with a bang a year after back injury kept her away
- American Elizabeth Szokol shoots 8-under 64 to grab three-shot lead after first round
- Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan has tough day, carding 3-over 75 at Sentosa Golf Club
A year after missing the HSBC Women’s World Championship with a back injury, Elizabeth Szokol returned with a bang on Thursday, carding a superb eight-under 64 in Singapore.
The unheralded American, who is ranked 153 in the world, outshone the game’s best at Sentosa Golf Club after overcoming a bogey on the 10th, her first hole of the day.
But from there she never looked back, rattling off seven birdies and an eagle to open up a three-shot lead on 2021 US Women’s Open champion, Japan’s Yuka Saso.
Szokol said missing out on ‘Asia’s major’ last year with a herniated disk had been a “really hard” but she was ultimately glad to have made the “tough decision”.
“I didn’t play, didn’t touch a golf club for three or four months,” she said. “I came back after five or six months. But looking back, I’m really glad I did.
“I was really focused on getting better and feeling healthy. So I’m really happy to be back playing, and especially here.”
