American Paula Creamer leads by one in Evian, Moriya & Pajaree as best Thais

This is the first time that Creamer, the 2005 Evian Masters champion, has held the lead following 18 holes since the 2017 LOTTE Championship. 

“It's been several years where I felt like just all in all good in my shoes kind of thing. That's nice,” said Creamer. “It's nice to kind of be back to that. But no pressure. Not putting myself in any place where I have to do something. I just want to have fun and play good golf.” 

Four players are tied for second at -6: American Brittany Altomare and the Republic of Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee, Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko, who birdied the last four holes. Playing in the second-to-last group, Lee found trouble on the par-5 18th when she tried to lay up but came up short of tying Creamer. 

“I made bogey the last hole, so feel a little not very happy, but still happy with 65, 6-under par with this golf course,” said Lee, a two-time LPGA winner. “My ball wasn't good so I tried to lay up. Then the lay-up was too long, so then I hit it into the other rough, then lay up again, 4-under, and two-putt.” 

One-time LPGA winner Moriya Jutanugarn and tour rookie Pajaree Anannarukarn followed four strokes behind for tied 11th. 

 

Defending champion Angela Stanford opened with a 5-over 76 and is tied for 102nd.

 

ADJUSTED STARTING TIMES FOR FRIDAY SECOND ROUND 

With thunderstorms and potentially heavy rain forecasted for ‪Saturday afternoon and evening, tee times have been moved up for the second round by 30 minutes. The first tee time of the day will be ‪7 a.m. Tournament officials want to take every precaution possible to ‪finish the second round before the end of the day.

 

EVIAN PINK SUITS CREAMER JUST FINE

After a long stretch of injury and personal struggles, it looks like Paula Creamer’s year is finally turning around. The 32-year-old Californian came to the Evian Championship fresh off three consecutive top-20 finishes, the first time she notched that streak since early 2014. After her bogey-free 64 on Thursday put her in the lead at a major for the first time since she won the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open, the smile on her face was nearly as bright as the sun blazing overhead.

 

“I feel really just in control. I'm going to hit some shots that aren't going to be perfect, but most the time I know where they come from,” said Creamer, who changed to an open putting stance in late June and also adopted AimPoint. “I haven't honestly filmed my golf swing manage in probably three months. We're just really working. We have three or four key things that I work on every day. I think we've got a really good system going on now with my team. I'm confident and playing good golf. When you're in control, you kind of feel better about going into tournaments with tighter pins, things like that.”

 

Creamer first stepped foot on Evian Resort Golf Club as a 19-year-old LPGA Tour rookie and took the course by storm, earning an eight-stroke win over Lorena Ochoa and Michelle Wie. It’s definitely a loving relationship between Evian and Creamer, who earned her nickname Pink Panther thanks to her love for Evian’s signature rosy hue.

 

“You can't get over the scenery. If you're ever having a bad moment, you just look over to your right and you see the lake,” said Creamer. “But also all the pink. I mean, first time I came higher here I was just like, This place was meant for me. I love all the pink.”

INBEE PARK DRAWS FROM EXPERIENCE TO MAKE HISTORY 

LPGA Hall of Famer Inbee Park shot a first 6-under 65, her lowest opening round of The Evian Championship, and is tied for second, one stroke behind leader Paula Creamer. Park won the 2012 Evian Masters, becoming the last player to win before it became a major in 2013, and is one major short of completing a Super Grand Slam, awarded to players by winning five different LPGA majors.

 

“Obviously starting the first day with seven birdies is always a great feeling,” said Park, who with a win would join Karrie Webb as the only LPGA players to complete a Super Grand Slam. “You can make a lot of bogeys out here, so you got to avoid that the next three days. I think that will be the strategy: try to avoid the bogeys.”

 

Evian-les-Bains is a particularly special place to Park. According to Park, her Evian victory in 2012 was when her golfing career took off. She earned seven more titles in 2012 and 2013, elevating her to World No. 1 on the Rolex Rankings in April 2013 for 59 consecutive weeks. 

 

“This is my 13th year playing, so it's just more than probably like 50 times I played on this golf course. I know this golf course really, really well. This golf course has been a great memory of me,” said the 19-time LPGA winner. “Winning the golf tournament in 2012 really got me started to be really, really well on my golfing career. It's a special tournament for me in my heart, and I think maybe the positive attitude is just helping out.”

 

SOLHEIM CUP ON THE LINE FOR MEL REID

Mel Reid set the early pace during Thursday’s first round, taking advantage of the closing par-5 18th and ended her 6-under 66 with an eagle. The fiery Englishwoman has been playing with a hot hand of late, finishing in what she called a “huge” tie for third at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after enduring six missed cuts in her first nine starts of the 2019 LPGA season. After changing her home, her coach, her trainer and all of her equipment in the last 12 months, Reid is welcoming this new-found consistency in her game.

 

“Just frees you up. Freed up my whole year. Freed up next year,” said Reid of that big finish at KPMG. “I was talking the other day, when you’re on the bubble of 100 it sucks because you have to play every event, you're under pressure every single round; whereas you have one good result out here and it frees you up completely. Managed to do it in a big event. I've been waiting for that for a long, long time. Been busting my ass for a while. Luckily results are showing.”

 

Now firmly in Reid’s sights? Earning a spot on the 2019 European Solheim Cup team. Reid is a three-time Team Europe veteran with a combined 4-6-2 record. Earning another opportunity to don the blue-and-yellow European uniform would mean the world to her and this first round in Evian has put her in prime position to move up the rankings before the team is named in two weeks following the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open.

 

“I can't expect anything when you're not in the team automatically, and hopefully I'm just knocking on the door a little bit and being a bit more of a headache than (Captain Catriona Matthew)’s already got,” said Reid. “We'll see. I'm playing really, really good. I feel like I'm swinging it good. We'll see. Just keep the momentum. This week is the most important week really.”

 

ROLEX WOMEN’S WORLD GOLF RANKINGS PROJECTIONS

Four players have a mathematical chance to overtake Rolex Rankings World No. 1 Sung Hyun Park based on their finish at The Evian Championship. NOTE: There may be additional possibilities with tie scenarios and separate projection scenarios would need to be run to check. 

• Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko 
  • Win and have Sung Hyun Park finish solo third or worse
  • Solo second and have Sung Hyun Park finish solo 44th or worse and Lexi Thompson or Inbee Park do not win
• Rolex Rankings No. 3 Lexi Thompson
  • Win and have Sung Hyun Park finish solo third or worse
  • Solo 2nd and have Sung Hyun Park finish solo 57th or worse, Jin Young Ko finish solo third or worse and Inbee Park does not win
• Rolex Rankings No. 4 Minjee Lee
  • Must win and have Sung Hyun Park finish solo 59th or worse, and Jin Young Ko and Lexi Thompson finish third or worse
• Rolex Rankings No. 7 Inbee Park
  • Must win and have Sung Hyun Park finish solo fifth or worse 

Top-Ranked American

Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda have an opportunity to pass Lexi Thompson in the Rolex Rankings to become the highest-ranked American.

• Rolex Rankings No. 10 Nelly Korda
  • Must win and have Lexi Thompson finish solo 4th or worse 
• Rolex Rankings No. 15 Jessica Korda
  • Must win and have Lexi Thompson finish solo 15th or worse

PLAYER NOTES

Rolex Rankings No. 156 Paula Creamer (64)  

• Creamer’s first-round 64 is the lowest round in her 15 Evian appearances; her previous best was a 65 in the fourth round in 2006
• Her 64 is the second-lowest round of her 2019 LPGA Tour season, behind only a first-round 63 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
• She hit eight of 13 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 25 putts
• Creamer is in her 15th season on the LPGA Tour; she has 10 career wins, including the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2005 Evian Masters, with her most recent win coming at the 2014 HSBC Women’s World Championship
• This is Creamer’s 14th event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finishes are a tie for sixth at last week’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (a team event partnered with Morgan Pressel) and a tie for eighth at the ShopRite LPGA Classic
• She is competing in her 15th Evian Championship; she won the 2005 event prior to it becoming a major, and has five other top-five finishes

 

Rolex Rankings No. 37 Mi Hyang Lee (65)  

• Lee’s first-round 65 is the lowest round in her seven Evian appearances; her previous best was a 66 in the second round in 2018 and the first round in 2015
• Her 65 is the lowest round of her 2019 LPGA Tour season; her previous best was a 66 in the fourth round of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
• She hit nine of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
• Lee is in her eighth season on the LPGA Tour; she has victories at the 2014 Mizuno Classic and the 2017 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
• This is Lee’s 18th event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is second at the ANA Inspiration
• She is competing in her seventh Evian Championship; she has three top-10 finishes, with a best finish of a tie for fourth in 2015

 

Rolex Rankings No. 41 Brittany Altomare (65)  

• Altomare’s first-round 65 is the lowest round in her four Evian appearances; her previous best was a 66 in the third round in 2017
• Her 65 ties the lowest round of her 2019 LPGA Tour season; she has shot three other 65s in 2019, most recently in the final round of the Marathon Classic presented by Dana
• She hit 12 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
• Altomare is in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is second three times, including at the 2017 Evian Championship, where she lost in a playoff to Anna Nordqvist
• This is Altomare’s 17th event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is a tie for second at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give
• She is competing in her fourth Evian Championship; she tied for 44th in 2018, finished second in 2017 and missed the cut in 2016

 

Rolex Rankings No. 7 Inbee Park (65)  

• Park’s first-round 65 is the second-lowest round in her 10 Evian appearances; she shot a 64 in the second round en route to victory in 2012
• She hit 10 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
• Park is in her 13th season on the LPGA Tour; she has 19 wins, including the 2012 Evian Masters, and seven major wins, most recently at the 2015 AIG Women’s British Open
• This is Park’s 12th event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is a tie for second at the Kia Classic
• She is competing in her 10th Evian Championship; she won the 2012 Evian Masters and has three other top-10 finishes, including a tie for eighth in 2018

 

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko (65)  

• Ko’s first-round 65 is the lowest round in her four Evian appearances; her previous best was a 68 in the fourth round in 2018 and the first round in 2016
• She hit 12 of 13 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, with 23 putts
• Ko is in her second season on the LPGA Tour; she has four career victories, including the 2019 Bank of Hope Founders Cup and 2019 ANA Inspiration
• This is Ko’s 15th event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; she won the 2019 Bank of Hope Founders Cup and 2019 ANA Inspiration and has five other top-10 finishes
• She is competing in her fourth Evian Championship; she tied for 26th in 2018, tied for 39th in 2016 and finished 28th in 2015

 
QUICK HITS

• Jodi Ewart Shadoff withdrew prior to Round 1 citing back injury; Sandra Gal was added to the field
• 25 players in the top-20 represents six different countries (USA, Republic of Korea, England, Thailand, China, France) 

 

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS*

18 holes: 61, Hyo Joo Kim, first round, 2014

36 holes: 129, In Gee Chun, 2016

54 holes: 194, In Gee Chun, 2016

72 holes: 263, In Gee Chun, 2016

*Since becoming an LPGA major championship in 2013