England duo Charley Hull and Lottie Woad made strong starts to the LPGA Tour’s Kroger Queen City Championship, as Chanettee Wannasaen grabbed the early lead in Ohio.
Wannasaen carded an eagle and seven birdies in a bogey-free 63 to set the clubhouse target at TPC River’s Bend, with world No 2 Nelly Korda among the chasing pack after an opening-round 67.
Hull – who has finished tied-second in her last two worldwide starts – made a string of early birdies in her four-under 68, with Woad also five back after three birdies in her last five holes.
Lottie Woad is in the group on four under after a low-scoring opening day
Solheim Cup duo Maja Stark and Celine Boutier were among the other players to post an opening-round 68, with world No 1 Jeeno Thitikul and defending champion Lydia Ko part of the afternoon wave.
Hull – beginning on her back nine – birdied her opening two holes and added another at the par-three 13th, before picking up a shot at the par-four 15th to briefly move into the outright lead.
Hull was playing alongside Maja Stark and Lexi Thompson during the opening round
“I got off to a pretty fast start,” Hull said. “Played pretty decently, hit it pretty decently. Just didn’t make any birdies on the back nine, but I played pretty solid. Hopefully we can go low over the next few days.”
The Englishwoman finished her bogey-free round with 11 straight pars and was quickly overtaken by Wannasaen, who followed a front-nine 33 by making an eagle at the par-four 10th.
The Thai played birdied the next and finished with three more over her final four holes, with her score three shots better than the rest of the morning starters.
Korda briefly threatened a push for the lead with five birdies in a seven-hole stretch, eventually finishing on five under, while Woad’s eventful round included an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.
“[The round had] kind of everything,” Korda said. “Made a couple putts here and there. Overall, everything was flowing and the weather was great. There was really no wind. With the saturated conditions, a little softer, you could be a little bit more aggressive.”
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