Ariya Jutanugarn takes the lead while defending the 37th Junior PGA Championship
Ariya Jutanugarn finished her opening round Tuesday at the 37th Junior PGA Championship with a series of shots that made golf seem like an easy game.
Jutanugarn’s game off the tee was not great. Yet, she managed to end each of the holes on a high note. Every time she finished with a birdie, she followed it by a series of fist-pumps, the kind of gesture players make when they know they have done well.
The 16-year-old from Thailand took a one-stroke lead over Windermere’s native Samantha Wagner after round one at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club.
She cruised to three-under par for the round after recording three birdies off the first four holes. However, a bogey on the fifth hole dragged her down by one stroke.
Yet, she kept on playing good strokes and parred seven holes before sinking another birdie on the 13th hole. The run of three consecutive birdies to end the round gave Jutanugarn a first round score of six-under par 66.
She also matched her own course record that she set during her last year’s victory with a 10-under par tournament score.
Once again, she has threatened her opponents with her great form on the course and is currently a favourite to win the title this year too.
"On the front nine I did not play so well," Jutanugarn said. "My driver was bad at the start. ... I got lucky on 16 when I chipped in and 17 is my favorite hole and I know I can make birdie there. Then I hit it to one foot on 18".
She now hopes to remain consistent in the upcoming rounds and take the title home once again with a huge margin on the leaderboard.
On the other hand, Wagner was also pleased with her performance. She said that she did poorly last year and it was completely different this year.
"I was really happy with how I played today," Wagner said. "I was disappointed with how I played last year, but I love this course and knew I could play better".
Meanwhile, Jutanugarn’s elder sister, Moriya Jutanugarn, was also a part of the competition and shot a three-under par 69 for the fourth place on the leaderboard.
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