Lottie Woad was leading midway through the LPGA Tour’s Kroger Queen City Championship when defending champion Charley Hull made a nightmarish bogey bust.
Rhodes shot 70 for a 6-under 66 in the first round at Marquette and Country Club on Friday morning, mixing in seven birdies and a bogey to stay in touch with former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko and America’s Amanda Doherty.
The British woman took the lead with four birdies in the opening six holes, then added successive gains throughout the turn to get to 6 under par, before making a shot on the penultimate hole to cancel out a fourth (13th) bogey.
“The chances of scoring were much higher because there was less wind,” Woad said. “Obviously my tee shots are better. I hit the fairway more and my approach was really good.”
Woad was briefly second to Hull, who hit an eagle on the par-5 seventh and had birdies on the eighth and 10th holes, but last year’s winner had six bogeys in his final eight holes.
Charlie Hull was two strokes behind after opening day.
Hull dropped one stroke on the 11th hole, scored three strokes from the 13th, and had subsequent faults on the 17th and 18th holes to shoot a 2-over 72 and fall eight strokes off the midway lead.
Hyunjung Ko set the early pace at 7 under par after shots of 67 and 66 in the first two days, while Lydia Ko finished second at 5 under par, while world No. 1 Nelly Korda and world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul led the way with a second-round 67, three strokes ahead.
Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist shot a 2-under 68 to move to 2-under par, while England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff made a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole, the seventh hole of her career, to secure a safe start to the weekend.
On the women’s European Tour, Esther Henseleit took a one-stroke lead at the weekend’s Amundi German Masters.
On a slightly more challenging day at Green Eagle Golf Courses’ North Course, Henseleit used a mix of five birdies and three bogeys to shoot a 2-under 71 to move up to 9 under and one stroke clear of Sara Kouskova.
“It’s been a little bit up and down,” Henseleit said. “Last year, I won with 9 under par. I’m definitely happy with my score. It’s definitely a little bit more likely than last year. It’s always nice to lead a tournament in two days.”
German trio Alexandra Försterling, Chiara Noja and Leonie Harm finished third with Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd, while Great Britain’s Esme Hamilton and Meghan MacLaren finished fourth from the halfway lead after rounds 70 and 72 respectively.
Watch both events on Sky Sports all weekend. Day 3 of the Amundi German Masters will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Golf from 1pm, while the Kroger Queen City Championship will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Mix from 8pm. Access or stream Sky Sports with no contract.
