Inbee Park shoots 66 to tie for third in first round at Safeway Classic 2012
South Korean Inbee Park was more than happy at the end of the first round of Safeway Classic 2012 as she tied for the third position after posting a 66.
Park is standing tied along with American Cristie Kerr and Pornanong Phatlum.
The tournament is being played at the prestigious Pumpkin Ridge’s Ghost Creek Course, with a roster packed with prominent names like the current world number one Yani Tseng and Suzann Pettersen.
Despite a solid field, Park did not let her rivals outperform her and kept moving ahead by making sensible strokes.
The South Korean star started the first round from the 10th hole. She cheered the spectators after she drained her first birdie on the 10th hole. She then parred four holes in a row and carded her second birdie on the par-5 15th.
Although brimming with confidence, the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) contender could not hold her ground on the 17th and ended up registering a bogey.
Park looked firm even after carding a bogey on her scorecard, as she knew how to come back into contention. She made a perfect swing and calculated putt on the 18th hole, sinking her third birdie.
On the front nine, the rising star amazed the spectators and her fans as she shot three consecutive birdies on the first, second and the difficult third hole. She then parred the next two holes and drained yet another birdie on the sixth hole.
American Sydnee Michaels and Japanese Mika Miyazato posted a 65 each to share a first-round lead. Both the leaders played well and kept their rivals at a distance right from the start of the LPGA event.
Michaels shared her thoughts after she finished her day, saying she could not believe when she saw her name on the top of the leaderboard. She said that was a little nervous at the start as the field is loaded with most of the top-ranked LPGA stars.
Yani Tseng, who was expected to atone for her past lapses in the tournament, got off to a slow start as she tied for 28th position by posting a 70.
Speaking to the media at the end of the round, Park said that she is pretty happy after making a good start and will try to keep the momentum going in the second round as well.
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