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NAPLES, Fla. — Sei Young Kim shot 31 under to win an LPGA Tour event last year to set a record.
Thursday, she set the stage to be part of another one.
The South Korean shot a 7-under-par 65, including an eagle on No. 17, to take the first-round lead in the CME Group Tour Championship that features a record $1.5 million first-place prize at Tiburón Golf Club.
Kim birdied her first two holes, and five of her first 11, but then made five straight pars before the eagle.
“The front nine I had four birdies and then staying really solid; back nine I had one birdie until the 17,” Kim said. “Hole 17 I made the eagle. That eagle I got big momentum and then I got extra confidence.”
“She played unbelievable, hit basically every fairway and knocked it close and made a ton of putts,” said Lexi Thompson, who played with Kim and shot 2 under. “Everybody knows she’s capable of rounds like that. She can get it going and get hot. It was fun to watch.”
Nelly Korda, Georgia Hall and So Yeon Ryu are two shots back.
In July of 2018, Kim became the first player in LPGA Tour history to go lower than 30 under at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in Oneida, Wisconsin, to win by a whopping nine strokes. Kim also set the 72-hole scoring record at 257.
Kim already had shared the under-par record with Annika Sorenstam at 27 under.
“I’m not trying to, ‘Oh, I’m going to low score,'” Kim said. “Yeah, I just focus shot by shot and that result happen to me.”
Korda, 21, and ranked third in the world, caught on fire coming in, finishing birdie-eagle-birdie.
“Kind of hit the brakes on the back nine, but then I finished really nicely. Not complaining about that birdie-eagle-birdie finish.”
Hall, who was happy to have a couple of weeks off, responded with a 67 that included an eagle on No. 17. Ryu had six birdies, four of them back-to-back, and one bogey for her 67.
Canadian Brooke Henderson, who has a residence at Miromar Lakes, Americans Lizette Salas and Marina Alex, plus Caroline Masson and Nanna Koertz Madsen are all three back.
Thompson, the defending champion, was 3 under after 12, but had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14, a par 5. She birdied the par-5 17th.
“It was one of those rounds I left a lot out there, definitely missed a good amount of putts,” Thompson said. “I hit a lot of great shots. The back nine I had a few I just let my mind just wander too much.”
Player of the Year and world No. 1 Jin Young Ko of South Korea shot 1 under and is tied for 22nd.
Hall had five birdies and an eagle, on No. 17, and came back from a double-bogey on No. 13. On her eagle, Hall had 223 yards to the pin after her tee shot, hit a rescue to 10 feet and made the putt.
“It was a perfect rescue, so I hit it and it caught the upslope, which I was hoping for, and slowed it down a bit,” she said. “That was a big bonus.”
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