Irish golf’s Stephanie Meadow, Leona Maguire and Olivia Mehaffey endured a trying opening day in the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon.

Winds gusting to 40 mph sent scores soaring on the opening day and just three players in the 144-strong field broke par.

American Amy Olson posted a four-under 67 to lead by three shots from compatriot Marina Alex and Germany’s Sophia Popov with Meadow the best of the Irish as she mixed six bogeys with birdies at the 16th and 17th for a 75 that left her tied 51st, just inside the cut line on four-over .

Mehaffey did the hard part by going to the turn in one-over. But she bogeyed the 10th, 12th and 14th and followed her lone birdie at the par-five 16th with a double-bogey five at the 17th and bogey at the last for a six-over 77.

It was equally frustrating for Maguire, who was four-over after taking five at the 110-yard eighth the Postage Stamp.

After another bogey at the 11th, the Slieve Russell star got back to four-over with a birdie four at the 16th only to finish with a double-bogey six to also card 77 and share 88th place.

After a bogey at No. 3, Olson returned birdies at 4, 6, 11, 14 and 16 to pull clear of the field after 18 holes. With winds gusting up to 40 mph, Olson was understandably proud of her performance at Royal Troon, with a three-stroke advantage that is tied with Juli Inkster (2006) and Mirim Lee (2016) for the largest 18-hole lead in its major history.

“That was the best ball-striking day of my life. I kept the trajectory on every shot what I wanted,” said Olson, who had never returned a round in the 60s in her previous three AIG Women’s Open starts. “My start lines were really good, which was especially important those first nine holes going out into the wind, and my distance control was really good, which can be really tough to judge on a day like this.”

Olson has never tasted LPGA Tour victory, notably double-bogeying the 72nd hole to lose the 2018 Evian Championship after stepping to the tee with a one-stroke lead. The 28-year-old learned so much from that experience and now finds herself one round closer to perhaps finding that elusive first win.

“I seriously love major championship golf. I love the difficult conditions. I just really feel like the cream rises to the top,” said Olson, whose 20 collegiate victories at North Dakota State University are the most in NCAA women’s golf history. “You can't get away with anything, honestly, and so it requires every part of your game to be sharp, and I love that challenge. I relish it. It is a marathon.”

A group of 10 players are tied for fourth at even, including 50-year-old Catriona Matthew, the 2009 AIG Women’s Open champion and the leading Scot through 18 holes.

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Danielle Kang, the highest-ranked player in the major field, survived a rollercoaster day on the links. Sitting 9 over through 15 holes, Kang eagled the par-5 16th and closed birdie-birdie to finish at +5. She sits tied for 71st, where she is joined by defending champion Hinako Shibuno and last week’s winner Stacy Lewis.

POPOV CONTINUES STRETCH OF QUALITY GOLF AT THE #AIGWO

Sophia Popov has been on a roll, and she doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. After caddying for friend Anne van Dam during the LPGA Tour’s resumption at the Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio, Popov went on to tie for ninth the following week at the Marathon LPGA Classic, becoming one of 10 qualifiers through the event for the AIG Women’s Open. Instead of journeying across the sea for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open for some extra practice on the links before the major championship, Popov played the Symetra Tour’s Founders Tribute event in Mesa, Ariz., finishing in a tie for second. 

“A couple people said, why aren't you leaving earlier, you're playing the Women’s Open, and I said, you know what, honestly for the status I have this year, I need to play Symetra events and I need to make sure I'm doing well with those, and so I didn't want to miss too many events,” said Popov, who recorded a first-round 70 at the AIG Women’s Open. “The Women’s Open to me is a bonus event essentially. I just said, I'm okay with the one practice round. I knew it was only going to be one. I said links golf is links golf, and the conditions change so much anyways that you have to adjust accordingly.”

Popov was one of only three players under-par on the day. Her boyfriend, Max Melhes, flew to Scotland to caddie for her, making her feel even more comfortable as she took on Royal Troon in treacherous weather conditions.

“Usually I'm pretty humble about my game, but today I honestly just made a lot of really good shots. Especially on the front nine, it was really important with the wind into off the right. It was very tough, and I just picked good spots if I did miss the greens. Other than that, just hit a lot of greens in these conditions, actually,” said Popov. “When I was on the first tee box this morning, I said, oh, my God, anything -- even remotely close to par today is going to be an incredible round. I said, if I can keep it under 5-over par then this is going to be great, and so yeah, I mean, just with the wind blowing in our faces on No. 1, I honestly didn't think I was going to come off the 18th green shooting 1-under par, so I'm extremely happy.”

MARINA ALEX FEELING “AWESOME” AFTER STRONG FIRST ROUND 

Marina Alex knew Royal Troon would be a challenge. With gusts forecasted to blow more than 30 mph during the day, Alex knew she had to fight hard against the Scottish temperamental weather. She had five straight pars to open her round but double-bogeyed the par-5 sixth after barely carrying a cross bunker about 170 yards out from the hole. That was the only blemish on her card and she more than made it up by the end of the day, adding three birdies to sit at -1 after 18 holes at the AIG Women’s Open, tied for second heading into Friday.

“I was able to take advantage of a couple breaks in the weather. I felt like it was super windy and raining but then there were lulls here and there. It just played so different, obviously, than the practice days and different than what we would have even expected it to play under I think like a normal prevailing wind,” said Alex. “So it's funny, the easy holes played very challenging and the holes that are mentally super difficult were short, so it's just kind of trying to manage that and taking advantage of the fact that the challenging holes were birdieable in some ways today.”

Alex said she is appreciative of the opportunity to play at such an historic venue that has hosted The Open nine times. It only motivates the American to continue her strong play through the next couple of days, despite what the weather may throw her way.

“There's been so many years where we've been trying to get on the same – I would just say the same level as men's golf and it kind of starts with the golf courses in my opinion and just seeing what the women are capable of on the same venues I think just really helps bring the level of our sport up a notch, and it's important that we're playing here,” said Alex. “The announcement that we had, I think it was yesterday or the day before, for the upcoming five years was so cool. I think it's just we're all kind of like reinvigorated about this whole championship, and I think it's going to be great moving forward.”

 

ALENA SHARP MAKES THE MOST OF GETTING UP EARLY

A 6:30 a.m. tee time makes for a painful wake-up call, but Canadian veteran Alena Sharp certainly made the early alarm worth her while. Playing in the first group off at the AIG Women’s Open, Sharp carded an even-par 71 and is tied for fourth after 18 holes at the season’s first major championship. 

“I hit my first shot out of bounds and made a double on the first hole and it's not obviously the way I wanted to start the day,” said Sharp. “But it actually woke me up a little bit and started playing some good golf shots after that and made a few putts and just grinded my way.”

Sharp is making her 11th AIG Women’s British Open start, with a best finish of T23 at St Andrews in 2007. She feels an extra kinship to Royal Troon thanks to her Scottish ancestry, perhaps giving her extra luck as she continues her quest for the first title of her 16-year LPGA Tour career.

“I was so ecstatic to see that we were going to get to play Royal Troon and it wasn't going to get canceled. We are lucky we get to play some of these amazing courses,” said Sharp. “I have like ancestry from here. My grandmother was born in Greenock and my uncle was born in Glasgow. I feel like they were watching over me today and giving me a little help out there.”

 

EXPERIENCE IS KEY FOR CATRIONA MATTHEW

In 2009, Catriona Matthew became the first Scot to win the AIG Women’s Open when she captured the title at Royal Lytham and St Annes, just 11 weeks after giving birth to her daughter Sophie. Fast forward to 2020 and Matthew seemingly has not lost a step. The 2019 and 2021 European Solheim Cup captain birdied three of the closing four holes at Royal Troon to finish at even-par 71 and heads to the second round in a tie for fourth.

“Obviously delighted with my round. You know, I played well. I drove the ball well,” said Matthew. “I don't think I missed a fairway today, which gives you just the opportunity to try and hit the greens.”

Matthew is playing in her 26th consecutive AIG Women’s Open, dating to 1995. As a native Scot and one of the most experienced players in this field, she was not fazed by today’s gale-force winds and tomorrow’s storm forecast. She can’t control that, so she can’t focus on it.

“Throughout the years we have had some pretty horrific days, and it's just to go out there, I think, with the mentality that you just need to hang in,” said Matthew. “You might get the odd bad break, you might get a few good ones. But I think just hang in and just try and give yourself putts for par.”

 

KATJA POGACAR GETS LATE PLAYING OPPORTUNITY AFTER JESSICA KORDA WITHDRAWS

Rolex Rankings No. 18 Jessica Korda, the fourth-ranked American in the world, withdrew prior to the first round of the AIG Women’s Open. She posted the following statement to her social-media channels: “Unfortunately, due to medical reasons that are not COVID-19 related, I’ve had to withdraw from the AIG Women’s Open. I hope to tee it up soon.”

Slovenia’s Katja Pogacar then got the call that every first alternate hopes to receive – she was in the 2020 AIG Women’s Open field. Teeing off early at 7:36 a.m., Pogacar carded a 4-over 75 on a wind-swept Royal Troon and sits tied for 53rd going into the second round. This is her second AIG Women’s Open appearance, after missing the cut in her debut in 2019 at Woburn Golf Club. 

PLAYER NOTES

Rolex Rankings No. 55 Amy Olson (67)

• Olson’s 67 was the lowest career round at the AIG Women’s Open; her previous best was a 70 in the second round in 2018

• She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 29 putts

• Olson is in her seventh year on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is second at the 2018 Evian Championship and the 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open

• This is Olson’s seventh event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is second at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open

• This is Olson’s fourth appearance at the AIG Women’s Open; her best finish is a tie for 28th in 2018

• Olson is a 2013 graduate of North Dakota State University, with a degree in Accounting; she is also a Certified Public Accountant

• While at North Dakota State, she broke the NCAA record for most career victories with 20, a mark previously held by Juli Inkster, and was a First-Team Capital One Academic All-America selection in 2012 and 2013

Rolex Rankings No. 28 Marina Alex (70)

• Alex hit 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, with 29 putts

• Alex is in her eighth year on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is a win at the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic

• This is Alex’s fifth event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is T4 at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open

• This is her seventh appearance at the AIG Women’s Open; her best finish is a tie for ninth in 2014

• Alex was a member of the 2019 U.S. Solheim Cup team, with a 1-1-2 overall record

• She was twice named SEC Player of the Year while playing at Vanderbilt University and was selected as a NGCA First-Team All-American (2010 and 2012) 

• As a sophomore, she was the individual winner at the 2010 SEC Championship and was runner-up as a senior

• Inducted in the 2015 class of Vanderbilt's Hall of Fame

Rolex Rankings No. 304 Sophia Popov (70)

• She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 32 putts

• Popov has 2020 Symetra Tour Membership; she tied for second at last week’s Founders Tribute at Longbow Golf Club in Arizona

• This is Popov’s second event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; she tied for ninth at the Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana

• This is Popov’s second appearance in the AIG Women’s Open; she finished 67th in 2011