Lydia Ko takes early lead in Canadian Pacific Women’s Open

A 64 will do that.

Kung, who was born in Taiwan but now lives in Texas, is 11 under on the 6,681-yard, par-72 Vancouver Golf Club course.

The 18-year-old world number two seized the early clubhouse lead and finished on Thursday just two strokes back of first-round leader Karine Icher, of France, who shot a seven-under 65 in the afternoon.

Brooke Henderson, a 17-year-old Canadian who was granted LPGA Tour membership after winning the Portland Classic last weekend, opened with a 70.

She’s been on the tour since 2003 and is looking for her first career LPGA victory. “It’s pretty cool to be famous”, she said on Tuesday. “Things just seemed to click a little better today.

“I was like you are getting pretty close and then I kept making bogeys and it was like, uh-oh”, she told reporters afterward.

“I’ve been working pretty hard lately”, Kung said. “That is what I am going to work on tomorrow, get a little more subtle with my iron shots”. On the ninth hole, she landed in a fairway bunker, before carding a bogey, to head to the back nine at even par.

Although she was playing late in the day, Ko was followed by a large gallery, which let out a big roar when she drained that birdie putt on the 18th green.

She signed her scorecard and was headed for the parking lot, or maybe lunch, when a Golf Canada official told her to hang on a sec, because a throng of media people were waiting to talk to her.

“I’ve won here before so there are a lot of good memories”. I was signing (autographs) for almost five minutes after every green. Its definitely a great where you feel really welcome.”. “I had the same score the last time I was here”. “I didn’t really have that many really tough positions”.

“It’s good to finish well”.

The New Zealander fired a second-round four-under 68 at the Vancouver club, including a timely birdie at the last, to claim a share of second place at the halfway point. Since Ko was an amateur, Icher collected the first-prize money of US$300,000. “Now she’s a pro so I think if she wins, she takes the cheque”.

Defending champions Ryu struggled to get going on the opening day, with a lone birdie her only deviation from par.

The 36-year-old has never won on the LPGA Tour and hasn’t finished in the top 10 in an event this year. To be able to play the way I did today, especially with Jordan in my group, I could tell that he was the favorite. “From the beginning I want to win here”.

“It’s good to start off well and hopefully this will give me good momentum for the next couple of days”.

Michelle Wie, of the United States, tees off on the sixth hole… So I’m like, oh, I was kind of shocked because it’s my first one.