1. 17-year-old amateur Megha Ganne was the marquee story of round one, carding an opening 67 to tie the lead after 18 holes. Ganne is the first amateur to lead or co-lead after any U.S. Women’s Open round in 15 years – Jane Park was the last to do it, sharing the 18-hole lead with three other players at Newport Country Club in 2006. Ganne is just the sixth amateur in this championship’s history to shoot a score of 67 or lower.
2. Mel Reid put together the best round of the early wave, making five birdies and only one bogey on her way to an opening 67. Reid is the first Englishwoman to lead after round one of the U.S. Women’s Open since Laura Davies in 1998, and the first to lead after any round since Karen Stupples shared a 54-hole lead in 2005. Reid hit 14 greens in regulation on day one, tied for fifth-most in the field.
3. History says the opening round co-leaders may not be as successful in round two. There have been 20 players to hold or share the first-round lead at the U.S. Women’s Open since 2008. Only one of those 20 players would record a second-round score in the 60s, with the scoring average of the group coming in at 72.95. The only player in that span to hold a piece of the Round 1 lead and go on to win was Ariya Jutanugarn in 2018.
4. Brooke Henderson was nearly part of the group at the top but settled for 68 after a three-putt bogey on the closing hole. Still, it was the first time in Henderson’s career she has started the U.S. Women’s Open with a round in the 60s. Henderson had elite approach play on day one: her average proximity to the hole was 24 feet, 1 inch – second-best of anyone in the field.
5. Lexi Thompson opened her championship with a round of 69, her lowest career first-round score at the U.S. Women’s Open. Incredibly, at age 26, this is Thompson’s 15th appearance in this championship. The last player to win her first U.S. Women’s Open title in her 15th career appearance or later was Juli Inkster, who broke through with her first win in 1999, her 20th start.
6. World No. 1 Jin Young Ko got off to a strong start, firing an opening-round 70 on Thursday. Ko continues to be one of the most consistently good performers in major championships in recent years. In fact, since the beginning of 2018, Ko is a combined 57 under par in majors, 14 strokes better than any other player during that span. Ko finished tied for second at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, her fourth consecutive top-20 finish in the championship.
7. 2019 champion Jeongeun Lee6 continued her brilliant U.S. Women’s Open career with an opening-round 70. Thursday was the tenth round under par for Lee6 in this championship since 2017, most of any player in that span. Lee6 has now bettered the field scoring average in ten consecutive rounds in this championship. Her scoring average of 70.88 is the lowest at the U.S. Women’s Open over the last ten years among all players with a dozen or more rounds in that span.
8. Just days after withdrawing from a third-place match in order to better prepare for the championship, former world No. 1 Shanshan Feng shot an opening-round 69 to get squarely into contention. Feng has some unfinished business this week at The Olympic Club: in 2017, she became the first player in 24 years to hold a share of the lead after rounds one, two and three of the U.S. Women’s Open and not win. In 41 career rounds at this championship, this was just the second time Feng has shot a round in the 60s.
9. The fifth hole played as the most difficult on the course on day one, averaging more than a half-stroke over par. A scant 42 percent of the field hit the fairway off the tee – with those who missed penalized, on average, 0.52 strokes. Just 31 percent of the field hit the green in two shots, and only ten birdies were recorded all day. Fairways were much more difficult to hit on the front nine than on the back nine on Thursday: 56% for holes 1-9, 68% for holes 10-18.
10. Which players can we expect to be part of the story through the weekend? Consider this: 22 of the last 30 U.S. Women’s Open champions were at or within three strokes of the lead after the opening round. Ten of the last twelve who went on to win were inside the top 15 after day one. Fifteen players currently sit at or within three shots of the lead.
Justin Ray is the head of content for Twenty First Group. He has also worked as a senior researcher at ESPN and Golf Channel.
