Kirk eyes title defence after record round
Defending champion Katherine Kirk equalled the course record at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic after an eye-popping 10 under par 62.
Kirk produced the lowest round of her career on the opening day in Oneida to create a one-shot buffer with Sei Young Kim and immediately put herself in contention to defend her title.
Starting on the back nine, the Australian made three birdies in a row, before another four successive birdies saw her go into the turn with a 29.
Through Round 1️⃣ of the @thornberrylpga the top 4️⃣ players rep 4️⃣ different countries:
🇦🇺 Katherine Kirk
🇰🇷 Sei Young Kim
🇺🇸 @megan_khang1023
🇨🇦 @Britt_Marchand #GolfsGlobalTour pic.twitter.com/Lf819t60lW— LPGA Media (@LPGAMedia) July 6, 2018
“Obviously, there are good vibes here and I have a lot of confidence on this golf course,” Kirk said.
“It just suits my eye. So with that being said, you can only play one hole at a time. That’s all I did today. I just stayed in the moment.
“It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint. It’s going to take another three really good rounds to be in contention on Sunday.”
14/14 Fairways hit
17/18 Greens in reg
Only 25 puttsWhat was working for @Katherine_Kirk1 toady? Everything. #LPGAHotRound #NECLPGAStats @NEC @thornberrylpga pic.twitter.com/h8ytYKMRkv
— LPGA (@LPGA) July 5, 2018
South Korea’s Kim birdied six-in-a-row on the back nine on her way to a nine under 63, as she looks to land a seventh LPGA Tour title.
Megan Khang and Brittany Marchand are one shot further back at eight under, while Sung Hyung Park shot a two over par 74 in her first event since winning last week’s KPMG PGA Women’s Championship.
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