The inaugural Ford Championship in Gilbert, Arizona witnessed a prominent European presence on Thursday, with notable performance from Spain’s Azahara Munoz. She hadn’t witnessed any victory on the LPGA Tour post her single triumphant run back in 2012. Yet, Munoz displayed a vintage performance on a day characterised by a low-scoring opening round. The 36-year-old veteran of four Solheim Cups consistently targeted the flag during an impressive threshold Round of eight-under-par 64, which comprised of an eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys. Additionally, Nanna Koerstz and Emile Kristine Pedersen from Denmark also followed the birdie spree, each logging 66s.
Leona Maguire’s initiation round was slightly less rewarding as the golfer from Cavan posted a 71 score, one under par. After playing one over in the first six holes, Maguire managed a birdie on the 16th, followed by steady pars across six holes. She further birdied the fifth and maintained consistency with four more pars, lagging seven shots behind the clubhouse pace.
Munoz, with her last LPGA Tour victory dating back to the Sybase Matchplay over a decade ago and no victories thereafter except for the successful defence of her Spanish Open title in 2017, performed brilliantly from tee to green, aided significantly by the introduction of a new putter in her kit. The switch to Ping Answer came just before the tournament, which Munoz found to be a game-changer. Expressing her joy, she said that this round gave her the reassurance that she can still perform well.
In PGA Tour news, Scottie Scheffler – a.k.a. world number one and recent victor at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship – upheld his commendable form with a first-round five-under-par 65 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. He was one stroke behind clubhouse leader Taylor Moore.
Scheffler had taken a respite the preceding week following the Players and had availed physiotherapy treatment for a neck injury. He managed to maintain par in the preliminary few holes before marking his first birdie on the 13th (as his round kicked off on the 10th). Scheffler referred to his performance as solid, maintaining a clean card devoid of bogeys was per his satisfaction, given the nature of the golf course. He expressed pleasure in managing a flawless card.
Despite only finding eight of the 13 fairways from the tee, Taylor still managed to strike 15 of the 18 greens in regulation and signed off with a 64, thereby taking an early lead. After ranking 12th in his previous attempt to defend the Valspar last week, Taylor maintained his strong performance with one eagle, five birdies and only a single bogey. He argued, “Despite its complexity, it is indeed a challenging course. It is extremely lengthy and it probably has the greatest number of mid to long-irons I’ve had to deal with on par fours this year.”