Walton Heath Golf Club, the host of this year’s AIG Women’s Open, has kicked everyone in the teeth.
It played more like a U.S. Open on day one than an Open Championship.
“Anything under par is a good score on this golf course,” said Charley Hull, the Englishwoman who tied for second at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open.
Only 33 players are under par after the opening round, as American Ally Ewing holds the lead at 4-under.
Rose Zhang, meanwhile, battled the challenging English layout en route to an even-par 72 on Thursday.
“It played a little bit difficult out there,” Zhang admitted after her round. “I hit some good shots, I hit some good putts, but some of them did not drop. Out here, you just have to be patient. It’s a British Open golf course.”
Some of the putts Zhang missed were relatively short. At the par-4 13th, she missed a three-footer for par, which dropped her back to 1-over for the championship.
But she bounced back with a birdie at the par-4 15th.
At the tough par-4 18th, Zhang pushed her tee shot right—into the purple heather that lines the fairways at Walton Heath. A double bogey loomed.
Yet, she managed to advance her second shot up to the greenside bunker and proceeded to make a world-class par.
On a course where trouble lurks anywhere, anyone within six shots of Ewing has a chance going into the weekend.
That includes Nelly Korda, who carded a 1-over 73 on Thursday.
The number-one ranked player in the world had an up-and-down round. When Korda arrived at the par-3 17th, she sat at even par. She made a bogey-four there, then pared the 18th to finish the day.
Finishing one stroke behind Korda was Celine Boutier, who has won the last two events on the LPGA Tour.
The Frenchwoman struggled all day; at one point, she sat at 4-over for the championship. Yet, the 2023 Amundi Evian Champion birdied both the par-5 16th and the par-3 17th to get it back to 2-over for the tournament.
She is one of 100 players that sit at 2-over or better after day one, as most of the field is still in contention.
It is a bunched leaderboard with nobody running away with it, which should create some terrific drama this weekend—something the AIG Women’s Open has grown accustomed to in recent years.
