In her second start at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, Narin An shot one of the lowest rounds of her career, an eight-under 64, to take the first-round lead at Tiburón Golf Club. During her bogey-free round, An carded eight birdies, the most in the field on day one, and hit every fairway. An, who has yet to earn her breakthrough victory on the LPGA Tour, now holds a first-round lead for just the second time in her career, with $4 million up for grabs if she can maintain the position through the rest of the week in Naples, Fla.
During the round, An made four birdies on the front nine (Nos. 2, 4, 6 and 9) and four on the back, including a three-hole streak of birdies on Nos. 11 through 13 and a finishing birdie on 17. She needed just 23 putts to get through the day, tied for lowest in the field, with 10 one-putts and a long putt from off the green on No. 11.
“Today my putt was really good. The speed was good, and the shape was good, so yeah, I was just try to make to focus a little bit more. I played well today,” said An of her first round. When asked how she felt playing for $4 million, she answered, “It’s about the same with the different tournaments. I mean, just tournament is tournament for me. I just do my best.”
LPGA Tour veteran Angel Yin sits in solo second after a 7-under round that did not get off to a good start. Yin made bogey on the second hole after a three-putt and then made another on four after finding the water. She quickly turned it around, however, with back-to-back birdies on holes 5 and 6, then picking up another on eight to make the turn in red numbers. She added two more birdies on 10 and 11 and then recorded two more on 13 and 14 before ending with an eagle on the par-5 17th and a par on the last.
In difficult conditions, Yin relied on her length to overcome the two-shot deficit, taking advantage of the longer setup of Tiburón this year.
“I started out a little bit rocky because I was trying to adjust to the golf course. The golf course is playing quite difficult with the early winds this morning, which I really like and I enjoy because it’s our last tournament, and it’s a huge purse, bigger than a major. It doesn’t have the title of a major, but I think it deserves every bit of difficulty it brings to closing the season out,” Yin said after her round on Thursday.
Marina Alex and Allisen Corpuz are tied for third after shooting 6-under 66s. While Corpuz went bogey-free, Alex, like Yin, had an early bogey that she made up for with five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 17th. Six players sit tied for fifth at 5-under, including two-time champion of the CME Group Tour Championship Lydia Ko, first-time participant Albane Valenzuela and past champion Ariya Jutanugarn.
Defending champion Amy Yang is 3-under and tied for 17th after her first round. Seven-time 2024 Tour winner and Race to the CME Globe leader Nelly Korda shot an even-par 72 on Thursday, with three bogeys and three birdies on her scorecard.