Three surprises in the first round of the 2023 Women's PGA Championship

The 193rd American golfer in the world leads with a score of -5, the Chinese pair is in 2nd place, and T6 has a rookie who likes to hire a temporary caddie, when the first round of the women's major PGA Championship is over.

The tournament took place at the Baltusrol par 71 course in New Jersey, bringing together 156 players to compete for a prize fund of 10 million USD.

On the opening day of June 22, Lee Ann Pace, a South African, started from hole 1, averaging 257 yards, hitting 11 of 14 fairways, reaching the green in par for 14 holes, and putting 29 times. With that professional performance, Pace scored five birdies, no bogeys throughout the round, and thus took the top spot, at -5.

Lee Ann Pace surprisingly leads the championship race after the first round of the Women's PGA Championship. Photo: PGA of America

This is a positive sign for her after a long period of playing with lackluster performance at the prestigious level. Pace is 42 years old this year, has participated in 39 major tournaments but only entered the top 10 once – T6 Evian Championship 2015.

Pace has been a professional since 2005 and has won 11 titles on the Ladies European Tour, but only one on the American-based LPGA Tour. Pace is ranked 193rd in the world for women's professional golf.

Pace has not played in the Women's PGA Championship for the past four years. After the first round this time, she leads T2 by one stroke. This group has an interesting coincidence, when Chinese compatriots Xiyu Lin and Ruoning Yin both scored -4.

Lin is 27, Yin is 20. They have known each other for nearly four years and consider each other sisters. During that time, Lin has passed on her experience to Yin to find her way onto the LPGA Tour. And along the way, Yin has rented Lin's old house in Orlando.

In early April, Yin achieved a career breakthrough when he won the Los Angeles Open, becoming the second Chinese champion in LPGA Tour history, after Shanshan Feng. Yin earned $262,500 from the victory. This morning, Lin joked on the Golf Channel : "I was going to raise my rent after Yin won that championship."

With a T2 (-4) finish, Lin and Yin are well on their way to either a trophy or a significant income from a major co-sponsored by the LPGA Tour and the Professional Golfers Association of America. Of this year’s $10 million prize fund, the championship will take home $1.5 million, and playing the entire tournament will certainly get a share, with the last place finisher receiving nearly $19,500. All players who do not make the cut will receive $4,000 in support.

Xiyu Lin (right) and Ruoning Yin (left) both scored -4 after the first round. Photo: LGPA Tour

After round 1, 24-year-old rookie Celine Borge also has a good chance of competing when she finished T6 (-2). In her debut season on the LPGA Tour, Borge is a special case, having gone through 10 tournaments without a permanent and experienced caddie, as is customary in the industry. This has been her hobby since she played in the second-tier Epson Tour.

At this week's Women's PGA Championship, Borge teamed up with her 11th on-court assistant since her promotion, Bartusrol caddie Corey Birch, who works 10 games a week. For much of the opening round, Borge handled everything from club selection to putting, while Birch mostly carried the "tool kit."

"I just need someone to carry the bag and play my way," Borge said when the media questioned her lack of a caddie. But with this approach, Borge performed well, recording three birdies and one bogey in the entire first round of the tournament. In total, the first leg of the Women's PGA Championship, only 16 players scored under par, including Borge. In the previous 10 tournaments, she made the cut seven times, including three top 20 finishes.

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