Meaghan Francella and Anna Grzebien
both fired six-under 66s Friday to share a one-stroke lead after the first
round of the Hana Bank - KOLON Championship.
Six players are one stroke back at minus-five, while 44 of the 71 players
broke par in the opening round on the Ocean Course at Sky 72 Golf Club.
Jiyai Shin posted a five-under 67 Friday and she stands alongside Bo-Kyung
Kim, Jimin Kang, Vicky Hurst, Catriona Matthew and Pat Hurst.
Women's world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa could only manage an even-par 72 that left
her tied for 45th place. Ochoa carded a bogey on the third and closed with a
birdie on the par-five 18th.
Francella played the back nine first on Friday and posted a lone birdie on the
15th to go with eight pars on her opening nine.
The 2007 MasterCard Classic champion moved to two-under with a birdie on the
first. Francella jumped into a share of the lead with four consecutive birdies
from the fourth.
"I didn't hit the ball that great," Francella admitted. "I had the lefts going
a little bit with my tee shot, so I scrambled a little bit on the front, and
shot one-under. Then I just kind of played what I had on the back, and I was
able to shoot five-under. Overall, I putted really well, so that saved me
today."
Grzebien got her round going with a birdie on No. 1. She picked up her next
birdie at the sixth. Around the turn, Grzebien birdied three of the first
five holes to move to five-under.
The 24-year-old closed with a birdie at the last to polish off a bogey-
free round and grab a share the first-round lead.
"I was just steady all day," Grzebien stated. "Obviously, if you make no
bogeys, then you're just kind of playing the course right. I was conservative
when I needed to be, and being aggressive on some of the pin placements
allowed me to do that. I just felt confident with the putter. We got off to a
good start, so I just kind of kept the momentum going early, which was nice."
Na Yeon Choi and Maria Hjorth share ninth at four-under 68. Christina Kim,
Meena Lee, Yani Tseng, Song-Hee Kim and Hee-Won Han are one stroke further
back at minus-three.
Defending champion Candie Kung stumbled to a four-over 76, which left her tied
for 68th in the 71-player field.
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