Beth Bader didn’t come out of nowhere Wednesday. It just seemed that way.
She has played on the LPGA tour since 2001, but the 38-year-old from Davenport, Iowa, has never won. Her best finish was a tie for fourth.
THE LEADERS
After the first round Wednesday at Ko Olina Golf Club:
| Beth Bader |
33-35—68 |
| Brittany Lang |
34-35—69 |
| Jiyai Shin |
34-35—69 |
| Angela Stanford |
35-34—69 |
| Yani Tseng |
32-37—69 |
| Cristie Kerr |
35-35—70 |
| Brittany Lincicome |
34-36—70 |
| Inbee Park |
34-36—70 |
| Suzann Pettersen |
33-37—70 |
| Elisa Serramia |
35-35—70 |
| Sun Young Yoo |
35-35—70 |
|
But after she blitzed past a phalanx of more widely known players late in the first round with a
4-under 68, Bader is allowed to envision making the inaugural Lotte Championship her first victory — even though it is her first event on tour this year.
Bader made the turn at 1 under. Three birdies in a row jetted her into the lead. It would have been a
two-stroke margin except for her lone bogey of the day on 18.
Back injuries and a low priority standing have kept Bader out of LPGA Tour action this year until this event.
“Trying to go through a couple swing changes because of my back,” she said. “You got to grind through it and hopefully it’ll be a little different this year.”
Angela Stanford, Jiyai Shin, Brittany Lang and Yani Tseng are among the many still in the hunt. They all enter play today just a shot back. And if Wednesday’s wind pattern repeats itself, Shin and Lang may have an advantage since they tee off in the afternoon.
Lang and Shin were among the players successfully battling strong wind in the morning on Wednesday. Others were not as fortunate, including Hawaii products Michelle Wie and Stephanie Kono.
Wie shot 78 to complete her round at 6 over and Kono was at 7-over 79. Shayna Miyajima played in the afternoon and also shot 78.
That leaves Ayaka Kaneko — like Kono, an LPGA rookie — as the local player with the best chance of making the cut. She shot a 2-over 74.
