LPGA Tour: Charley Hull makes quick start to defend Kroger Queen City title with Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko in contention | Golf News
Charley Hull overcame concerns about his game to get two strokes early in the LPGA Tour’s Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio.
The three-time LPGA Tour winner, who returns as the defending champion after a one-shot victory last year, sits tied for seventh after firing an opening round 68 in cold and windy conditions at Maketewah Country Club.
Hull, who missed the cut at last week’s Mizuho Americas Open, birdied the par-4th and overturned a bogey at the second with a birdie-eagle run from the sixth to move one short of the leaders.
The Englishwoman then failed to get up and down the sand to save the par nine, her final hole of the day, as Chella Choi, Ina Yoon and Rio Takeda set the pace with opening round 66s.
“I hit some good shots,” Hull told reporters. “I’m not hitting it very well at the moment, so I absolutely hit my five iron on the last hole with a short bunker.
“I don’t think the greens crew dug the bunker very well. There were quite a few bunkers like that out there. It was just a minor issue. I finished with a bogey, but I was pretty happy with how I played.”
Takeda mixed in five birdies and one bogey in his 4-under 66, while Choi held the lead until back-to-back bogeys dropped him to four under, with Yoon finishing in three to share the top spot.
Former majors champion Jin Young Ko and Lilia Vu are back in a four-over tie with Amanda Doherty, while Lydia Ko matched Hull’s 68 after bogeying her final hole of the day.
Lydia Ko is chasing her first LPGA Tour win since March 2025
“The front and back nine feel like two completely different golf courses, so it’s really hard to compare,” explains Ko. “I only hit five fairways out of 14, but it hit me well. It’s one of those golf courses where if you don’t do anything you can end up going left or right or over.
“Overall, I thought I played really hard. I put up a couple on the back nine. Other than that, I don’t think there was much of a difference. I just tried to stay patient.”
The world’s top two players – Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul – were both out early, as England’s Lottie Woad and Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist started with level-par 70s.
On the Ladies European Tour, Leonie Harm shot a bogey-free 65 to take a one-shot lead over compatriot Esther Henseleit after the opening round of the Amundi German Masters.
Harm posted eight birdies to set the pace at Green Eagle Golf Courses, while Denmark’s Sofie Kibsgaard moved back to third and England’s Meghan MacLaren was four off the lead after carding a four-under 69.
“I had a really good day hitting the ball,” Harm said. “I don’t remember hitting it near your flag, almost every time. It’s been a while, and my putter was really hot.”
Who will win the Kroger Queen City Championship? Watch this week’s LPGA Tour action live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 8pm on Sky Sports Mix. Get Sky Sports or stream without a contract.
