Golf Rookie Rocks Maya Open: Hole-in-One, Lead, and Korda Hot on Her Heels!
What a start at the LPGA Riviera Maya Open in Playa del Carmen, Mexico! On Thursday, Melanie Green not only posted a stellar round of six-under-par (66 strokes) but also scored a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th hole. With that, she immediately claims a share of the lead after the first round!
The rookie sensation – yes, folks, one of 21 debutants in this field! – crafted six birdies and only two bogeys on her scorecard. And she's not alone at the top: Veteran Brianna Do shares the pole position with her, having also played exceptionally well on the El Camaleon Golf Course with seven birdies and one bogey.
Both leaders, by the way, are chasing their very first LPGA title – the tension is palpable! Just one shot behind lurks Spain's Carlota Ciganda. And then, hold on tight, comes world No. 1 Nelly Korda! She leads a group of six players who are tied for fourth place with a 68, making a truly strong start.
Korda, the freshly crowned winner of her third major championship title at the Chevron Championship, which propelled her back to the top of the world rankings, immediately showed who's boss. She started on the 10th hole and after a birdie on the 13th, she immediately sank an eagle on the par-5 18th hole. Things are going her way! Her sole misstep, a bogey on the 2nd hole, she coolly countered with birdies on the 5th and 7th. That's how it's done!
“It was a solid four-under-par round, I definitely took advantage of the par-5s,” Korda summarized. And anyone who has followed her form this year knows: The lady is on fire! She already triumphed at the weather-shortened Tournament of Champions at the start of the season and then added three consecutive second-place finishes before claiming victory at the Chevron Championship for the second time in three years. What a streak!
But back to Melanie Green, whose round also began on the 10th hole and who gained a full six strokes in six holes: birdies on 13 and 14, then her eagle-hole-in-one on the 15th, and finally birdies on 17 and 18. A pure golf show!
The best part? She didn't even know her tee shot on the 15th had landed directly in the hole until she reached the green. “I walked up and thought, 'Okay, great shot. Phenomenal. Take your putter with you,'” Green later recounted with a grin. “Then we keep walking, keep walking, and I look at the green – and I think to myself, 'There's no ball.'”
When her caddie then confessed it was a hole-in-one, she reportedly just said: “It’s not in the hole. That’s not nice.” But as the truth sunk in, she was “super excited,” as she admitted. “Good bounce!”
