PEIYUN CHIEN LEADS FIRST ROUND IN FIRST WOMEN’S MAJOR OF YEAR

PEIYUN CHIEN LEADS FIRST ROUND IN FIRST WOMEN’S MAJOR OF YEAR
For the first time in her LPGA Tour career, Peiyun Chien will sleep on the lead at a major championship. The 32-year-old from Chinese Taipei opened The Chevron Championship’s inaugural round at The Club at Carlton Woods with a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the first major of the women’s professional season.

“I hit a really good wedge shot on 4 and then I hit a 6-foot putt, and the next hole I made a 30-foot birdie (putt),” she said of her three straight birdies on 4, 5 and 6. “Then the next hole I hit a 9-iron to the green, hit it to like 6 feet and made another good putt. I think I focused on one shot at a time really.”

Chien came to Texas on the heels of a tie for fourth at last week’s LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei, one of the best finishes of her seven-year LPGA Tour career. But even that success, achieved across the windswept Oahu coast, couldn’t keep Chien from feeling the healthy nerves of teeing it up for a major title.

“I saw the pin sheet last night, and I can't sleep. It feels so hard,” said Chien, who carded six birdies and one bogey on Thursday. “We're doing very well today, just focused on what I want, what we want, and which way we can miss. I think we did very well today.” Chien sits one stroke clear of six competitors in a tie for second at -4, led by Rolex Rankings No. 2 Nelly Korda, whose colorful card included seven birdies and three bogeys. “I took advantage of the par-5s today. I think I birdied them all, so that was important, as I'm a bit of a longer hitter,” said Korda. “Overall I played pretty well. It was nice to finish the way I did with just a tap-in birdie.”

Lilia Vu, winner of February’s Honda LPGA Thailand, drove the green at the par-5 eighth hole and converted her eagle to reach -4, along with fellow American Marina Alex.

Australian rookie Steph Kyriacou joined the pack at -4 courtesy of a 97-yard hole-out for eagle on No. 18. “I was a little bit shocked to be honest,” said Kyriacou, who will represent Australia at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown in two weeks. “I've never had a hole-out in a professional tournament, so I guess that was pretty cool.”

Japan’s Ayaka Furue and Korea’s Chella Choi round out the pack tied for second. American Angel Yin holds solo eighth at -3. Two-time Chevron champion Brittany Lincicome, playing in just her fourth event since giving birth in August 2022, is tied for ninth at -2. Defending Chevron winner Jennifer Kupcho opened with an even-par 72 and is tied for 37th.

The 2023 Chevron Championship marks the major’s move from the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., to The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. Thursday’s first round included a 54-minute delay due to thunderstorms, with all players finishing the first round.