Thitikul goes on birdie streak to take 1st-round lead at Women's PGA

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul walked off the fifth green after a double bogey in the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship reminding herself to stay patient and that some missed shots are going to happen.

“Majors, you're going to miss anyway,” said Thitikul, who's No. 2 in the women's world ranking. “A way to bounce back, it's more important.”

Thitikul certainly found a way to do that on a hot and windy Thursday, finishing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke lead over Minjee Lee (69). Haeran Ryu, Rio Takeda and Somi Lee all shot 70.

That only hole over par for Thitikul was followed by a par before she made five birdies in a six-hole stretch, with a 60-footer on the par-3 eighth hole in the middle of three in a row.

“My putter went really well," said the 22-year-old from Thailand, who is seeking her first major title. "In the front nine we had a lot of breeze going, and more than the back nine, but like (made) putts 7, 8, 9, which boosts the confidence up making the turn to the back nine.”

Thitikul, who lives in the Dallas area, needed only 25 putts on the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco. Her makes measured 199 1/2 feet.

Only 15 of 156 players broke par, with no bogey-free rounds on a day when temperatures reached the mid-90s Fahrenheit and it felt even hotter. There were also the ever-present Texas winds on a more open layout after last year's Women's PGA at tree-lined Sahalee outside Seattle.

Maja Stark, who three weeks ago won the U.S. Women’s Open, shot a 3-over 75. Defending champion Amy Yang finished with a 76, and was one of the last players off the course on a day with six-hour rounds.

Thitikul played with top-ranked Nelly Korda (72) and No. 3 Lydia Ko (75).

Korda, who reaggravated a neck injury with a shot out of the rough during a practice round Monday, opened with seven consecutive pars in a round that had two birdies and two bogeys. Ko was the only in the group to make a birdie at the 513-yard, par-5 first hole, but didn't make another the rest of the day.

While Korda said she doesn’t feel pain hitting shots, the two-time major champion said she has pain “just with rotation” of her neck and that it is hard to get comfortable to sleep at night.

“It’s better, yeah. Getting better every day, which is nice,” she said. “Just because I injured it last year, whenever I do injure my neck it takes a little bit longer than normal. ... Just takes me like a week to kind of recover when I tweak my neck now.”

Korda opened with seven pars, including at the 317-yard, par-4 seventh hole, where she hit a 294-yard drive into a valley just short of the green. Her initial pitch from there ricocheted off the edge of the green and rolled back down the slope to where she was. Korda hit her next shot to 2 feet.

That fifth hole for Thitkul started with a drive out of bounds and a penalty. Her birdie streak began with a nearly 18-footer at No. 7 before the long one at the eighth. She rolled in a 35-foot birdie at No. 17, and just missed making another one more than twice that long on the 434-yard, par-4 18th.

Two-time major winner Lee, a 29-year-old Australian who also lives in North Texas, hasn't won since 2023. She opened Thursday with a bogey and finished with two bogeys over the last three holes. In between, she made seven birdies.

“I feel like they were pretty soft bogeys. ... Well, on 16, that was a bit soft and obviously the first hole is a par 5. I should be making birdie or par at the least,” Lee said. “Obviously there will be bogeys, but I think for me, I just try to stay patient. If I make a bogey I just try it back it up with something better than that. Can’t get ahead of yourself, especially in this kind of weather. I think it’s more just the heat that’s draining your focus.”

Lee bogeyed the 425-yard 12th hole, where she drove into thick rough to the right and from there went into the left rough. She saved par at the par-3 13th by blasting from a bunker to 5 1/2 feet and had consecutive birdies to get to 5 under — the lowest by anyone in the first round. Then came her late bogeys, missing a 7-foot par on the 16th and hitting her approach on the 18th into a bunker.

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