The French Alpine weather cooperated and the first round of The Evian Championship finally got under way today beneath bright sun and brisk temperatures, perfect mountain golf conditions. For much of the round South Korean Se Ri Pak set the pace, with German Sandra Gal and Norwegian Suzann Pettersen sometimes trailing by a shot, sometimes sharing the lead. Then Mika Miyazato (Japan), who had been trailing behind Pak and Gel, got hot, collected a string of birdies, pulled even and then took the lead with a birdie on her final hole, leaving Pak, Pettersen, and Gel 1 shot off the lead and sharing 2nd place.
The Leader
Mika Miyazato, ranked #19 by Rolex, is a bit of a surprise as the 1st round pacesetter. She’s been playing steadily throughout the 2013 season but hasn’t pulled that winning game out of her bag. She finished well down the leaderboard at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April, at the US Women’s Open in June, and at the Women’s British Open in August. Playing on a rain-soaked course today, however, Miyazato navigated some tricky fairways that wound along the mountains and, with the exception of a bogie on the par 5 15th, managed her flat stick with smooth aplomb. Now she’s shown the rest of the field where to aim when they tee off Saturday morning
The Contenders
Si Re Pak, who inspired a generation of South Korean golfers when she won the 1998 US Women’s Open and who has mentored most of them, including Inbee Park , as they have carved pro golf careers from the legacy Pak has created, took the lead early in the round, and stayed there.
Pak is a deeply experienced professional golfers. The pressure cooker environment of a major tournament environment isn’t new to her, so although her more recent tournament performances haven’t seemed competitive, Pak is not a surprising pace setter for The Evian. The high-school track star who turned pro in 1996 and started her career on the Korean LPGA is ranked #41 by Rolex. Pak has accumulated an impressive string of 25 victories and 166 top-10 finishes over the course of her 17-year career. There’s certainly room for one more on her resume.
Sandra Gal, who plays on both the LET and LPGA Tours, was the only one of the leaders to shoot a bogie-free round today. Although 2013 has not been a good season for Gal, she played in all four 2012 LPGA Majors and finished in a tie for 3rd place in the US Women’s Open. Like Miyazato, Gal has a winning game in her bag. Perhaps she’s decided to pull it out and put it to work.
Of the trio trailing Miyazato Suzann Petterson is the least surprising. Petterson wants this victory, no doubt about it. The #3 world ranked player won the LPGA Lotte Championship in April, played her heart out at the 2013 Solheim Cup, and claimed another victory at the LPGA Safeway Classic in August.
Her ongoing rivalry with #2 ranked Stacy Lewis and #1 ranked Inbee Park is no secret. Pettersen wants to be on top. She’s an aggressive, competitive, world-class golfer and she knows exactly what she needs to do to pass Lewis and Park in the rankings. She needs to win tournaments, starting with The Evian, and she’s well on her way with today’s -5 finish.
Going in to the 2nd round Saturday Mika Miyazato is going to face some serious challenges to her slender hold on the top of the board. The popular and effervescent Christina Kim (USA), pigtails flying, carded 67 today and is in solo 4th place on the board. Kim’s not going to let up on the pressure, nor are Aussies Lindsey Wright and Karrie Webb , Kiwi teen phenom, Lydia Ko , and American Michelle Wie . All of them are bunched up at 6th place, 3 shots off Miyazato’s lead. All of them have games that can overtake and pass Miyazato.
A birdie here and a bogey there will turn the leaderboard upside down at this point in The Evian Championship! Let’s sit back and watch the 2nd round unfold. Golf Channel will be there for us if we can’t be there in person, starting at 6:30am Saturday morning, ET.
