By: Max Bechtoldt
There was a clear difference between the afternoon and morning waves at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship. The top five on the leaderboard all played early on Thursday.
The afternoon wave should have the better conditions tomorrow. Like many golf courses with Poa annua greens, Palos Verdes Golf Club’s putting surfaces get much trickier the longer the day goes.
Lexi Thompson avoided that on 18, with a walk-off shot hit in from the fairway for eagle to shoot even par.
Leading the way is Canadian Maude-Aimee Leblanc, who only needed 24 putts for her -7 64 score. Rookie Malia Nam, a former USC player, was -6 through her first seven holes to race out to a quick lead. She shot even par her last 11, but it was still good enough to put her in second place as of now.
Yuka Saso (above), Alison Lee and Madelene Sagström sit just behind at -5, giving the young players at the top formidable and experienced challengers. Saso had a nice recipe for success, she hit 13/14 fairways and only 26 putts.
The second round picks up on Golf Channel and Peacock at 6 PM est.
