Stephanie Meadow got off to an encouraging start with a two-under 69 in the Marathon LPGA Classic in Ohio.

Now the touring professional for Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort, the Jordanstown native made three birdies and one bogey at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania to share 28th place, five strokes behind the in-form American Danielle Kang and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.

She’s seeking to build on a share of 51st on her return to tour in last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship but will have her work cut out to catch the leaders.

Kang went bogey-free around Highland Meadows Golf Club, crediting a strong day with her putter, and is looking to become the LPGA Tour’s first back-to-back winner since 2017. 

“I worked a lot on my putting for the last couple days. Didn't really like how the ball was coming off my putter,” said Kang, who won last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship. “But I think that I kind of got a good feel out of it; then today my putting worked really well. There are days when the ball goes where you see, and that's what happened.”

Ko carded eight birdies and one bogey at a course that has historically been very kind to her.

The New Zealander has two victories and two other top 10s in her five previous tournament appearances with a scoring average of 68 over those 20 rounds. 

 “I hit a few shots that were really tap-in range, so when you have three, four of those kind of opportunities, it definitely puts a little stress off the putter, which was kind of the bit that I was struggling with last week,” said Ko, aiming for her first victory since 2018. “So it was nice that a few were really close to kind of put that stress off, and nice to just walk off the hole with the easy birdie.”

American Megan Khang holed out for eagle at No. 5 en route to a bogey-free 65 and holds solo third at -6. A quartet of players are tied for fourth at five-under – American Solheim Cup players Angel Yin and Ally McDonald, 2016 Volunteers of America Classic winner Jenny Shin, and Germany’s Sophia Popov.

KANG PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Different course, same result. After claiming the LPGA Drive On Championship title on Sunday, Danielle Kang opened the Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana with a bogey-free -7 and sits tied for the lead with Lydia Ko after the first round.

“I was told that if you're playing well, you just got to trust your game and keep playing your game, so that's been my plan since last week and this week,” said Kang, who rose to No. 2 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking with her victory at Inverness Club. “I'm striking it really well. Putting speed is there. Just got to keep trusting it and play my game.”

This week marks Kang’s first appearance at Highland Meadows Golf Club in 2017 and fifth overall. Her best Marathon LPGA Classic finish is a tie for 22nd in 2015. In her last six LPGA Tour starts, Kang has two wins (2019 Buick LPGA Shanghai, 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship), one second-place finish (2019 BMW Ladies Championship) and two third-place finishes (2019 CME Group Tour Championship, 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio).

KO CONTINUES HIGHLANDS MEADOWS SUCCESS

Highland Meadows Golf Club has been very kind to Lydia Ko. In her five previous tournament appearances, the New Zealander earned Marathon LPGA Classic victories in 2014 and 2016, tied for third in 2015, tied for seventh in 2013 and tied for 20th in 2017. 

This week, Ko has returned to the Marathon LPGA Classic for the first time since 2017. While the course has seen some changes, Ko continued her Ohio success with a first-round 64, her lowest round ever at Highland Meadows.

“It's not one of the longer golf courses, but throughout the years they've lengthened some of the holes and added a few bunkers this year. Well, I don't know if this year, or within the time that I've been gone,” said Ko. “It's good to be back.”

Ko had seven birdies on Thursday, five from easy tap-in distance. There really was not much that went wrong with Ko’s day, a fact that brought a big smile to her face.

“At any event when you know you've played well at that course before, gives you confidence and you draw back a lot of the good memories,” said Ko, who is looking for her first victory since the 2018 LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship. “I tried to just play my own game today and give myself good looks for birdies. When I'm kind of out of position, be smart. I actually got pretty lucky in some cases, so I think it was kind of one of those days where it's kind of clicking. So, yeah, I feel very relieved with the way it went.”

 

KHANG AND KURT ENJOY LAUGHS AND A BOGEY-FREE DAY ONE

Megan Khang and caddie Kurt Moskaly have proven to be a powerful team, with their strength showing in their shared sense of humor and immense support for one another. Right now, with no spectators at a usually packed and lively Marathon LPGA Classic, Moskaly plays both caddie and major fan for his player.

“He's got to be my fan, my caddie, my cheerleader all at the same time,” said Khang with a laugh. “I always put him in a predicament where he's got five different hats on.”

The duo’s relationship is iron-clad and pandemic-tested. Until the LPGA Drive On Championship, Khang and Moskaly last saw each other at January’s Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. After not connecting in person since then, the pair tied for 11th at Inverness Club. Khang now heads into the second round of the Marathon LPGA Classic in solo third after a bogey-free 6-under 65.

“We kind of just picked up where we last left off. Kurt and I have been working together for two and a half years and we know each other pretty well,” said Khang. “We know I do a lot of the talking and he does a lot of the listening. One ear out the other. It's just a lot of fun. A lot of conversations out there are funny and enjoyable. It's good to have a friend on the bag.”

 

COVID-19 ADJUSTED PLANS, BUT MCDONALD STILL FOUND WAY TO GET MARRIED

Nearly eight months ago, Ally McDonald said yes when longtime boyfriend Charlie Ewing proposed. Part of her Instagram caption included joyous hopes of seeing what 2020 would bring the happy couple, not knowing that a pandemic was right around the corner. Despite the many challenges COVID-19 posed, the two got married on May 30, becoming the rare couple to move up their wedding rather than postpone it.

“We had originally scheduled a July 31 wedding, which was going to be the Friday of the men's Olympics. And then with everything we kind of shuffled. We really struggled with what we wanted to do,” said McDonald, a member of Team USA at the 2019 Solheim Cup. “With our season being pushed farther back, we knew it was going to be really hard to fit something in, so we just moved it up. Had a smaller gathering and ended up being perfect. We originally had a honeymoon planned for Vermont, which we didn't get to do, but we went to Tennessee for a few days and it was perfect.”

Though the wedding wasn’t quite what the 27-year-old Mississippian had planned, with incredible patience and flexibility, she and her now-husband were able to pull everything off. 

“We were just kind of struggling with like the laws and everything. We really wanted to abide by everything and get as many people as we possibly could,” said McDonald. “We waited for the numbers to get from 20 to 50 for an outside gathering and we kind of went for it. We were able to have a lot of people there that we really cared about. Now that it happened the way it did, we couldn't imagine it being any better.”

The newlywed heads into the second round at the Marathon LPGA Classic tied for fourth at -5.

 

LEE THANKFUL FOR VETERAN BROOKER ON THE BAG IN TOLEDO

Andrea Lee is more than excited to be competing at the Marathon LPGA Classic, as her rookie campaign continues on in 2020. The recent Stanford graduate recorded her lowest score of the year on Thursday at Highland Meadows, a first-round 67, as she awaits the second day in a tie for eighth.

Lee has a veteran presence on the bag this week helping her in caddie David Brooker. Brooker, who usually caddies for Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko, picked up her bag at the LPGA Drive On Championship, as Ko elected to remain in Korea during the pandemic. The 21-year-old said she’s thankful for Brooker’s wealth of knowledge as a young professional on Tour.

“It's really nice to have him on the bag. He has so much experience and really kept me calm out there today. Just not trying to talk about things other than golf and it was nice. So he's been a great help. Great green reader, so it's been good,” said Lee. “Honestly, he's just keeping me really lighthearted out there for the most part. He doesn't try to throw me advice here and there. Maybe some course management. Kind of learning from him a little bit and how he thinks of the course and how he manages it. Apart from that, he's just been awesome. I think we just get along really well and we have nice conversations out there. Just keeping me really positive. Yeah, he's been great.”

 

TALLEY PLAYING IN MEMORY OF HER GOOD FRIEND

Emma Talley wears a blue bracelet on her right wrist, emblazoned with the phrase “Pray for Cullan.” Those words brought tears to Talley’s eyes as she spoke of her childhood friend Cullan Brown, who died on Tuesday at age 20 after a year-long battle with bone cancer.

“He truly was the best, and there are no words. He was honest, humble, lighthearted, funny, witty. He's actually really smart as well. He was a 50-year-old soul in a 20-year-old's body,” said Talley after her round on Thursday. “He's got the best personality in the world and cared for others. If you watch him in anything, he always said we, talked about other people, not himself.”

In June 2020, Brown caddied for Talley at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, and a month later, Brown made the cut as an amateur at the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship. But just weeks after that success, a bumped knee turned into a cancer diagnosis.

Talley played Thursday’s opening round with a very heavy heart, admitting to a near breakdown on the first tee as she thought about her friend. But as the day went on, she was able to take solace in knowing that Brown was watching over her and no longer suffering.

“Even though it was hard, I know this is the place he loved. He loved hunting and being outside and he loved golf,” said Talley, who shot a 1-over 72. “I talked to his mom last night and she said, Enjoy the walk because he would want you to. So I'm here for him.”

 

AIG WOMEN’S OPEN QUALIFYING UPDATE

There are 10 spots available this week at the Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana for the 2020 AIG Women’s Open, to be held Aug. 20-23 at Royal Troon in Scotland. The 10 spots will be determined by the players with the 10 lowest scores after 72 holes at this week’s Marathon LPGA Classic. In the case of a tie for 10th, a series of tiebreakers have been set to determine the final qualifier. If one of the qualifiers elects to not play in the AIG Women’s Open, the spot will not go down to the next available player. Any unused spots will be allocated to the qualifier at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open.

The qualifying leaderboard through the first round is as follows:

• Sophia Popov, first, 66

• Maria Fassi, T2, 67

• Andrea Lee, T2, 67

• Peiyun Chien, T4, 68

• Isi Gabsa, T4, 68

• Mariah Stackhouse, T4, 68

• Charlotte Thomas, T4, 68

• Ana Belac, T8, 69

• Lindy Duncan, T8, 69

• Ruixin Liu, T8, 69

• Lee Lopez, T8, 69

• Bianca Pagdanganan, T8, 69

• Linnea Johannson, T8, 69

PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 2 Danielle Kang (64)

• Kang’s first-round 64 is her lowest round ever at the Marathon LPGA Classic; her previous best was a 67, which she recorded in the third round in 2015 and the fourth round in 2016

• She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 27 putts

• This is Kang’s ninth season on the LPGA Tour; she has four career victories, most recently at the 2020 Drive On Championship

• This is Kang’s fourth event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; she won last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship

• This is Kang’s fifth appearance in the Marathon LPGA Classic; her best finish is T22 in 2015

• In 2019, Kang ranked in the top 10 on Tour in Rolex Player of the Year (eighth), Race to the CME Globe (eighth), Official Money (eighth) and greens in regulation (ninth)

• A two-time member of the USA Solheim Cup Team (2017, 2019), with a 4-4-0 overall record

• Partners with UNICEF for the Birdies to Build Better Futures campaign

Rolex Rankings No. 55 Lydia Ko (64)

• Ko’s first-round 64 is her lowest round ever at the Marathon LPGA Classic; her previous best was a 65, which she recorded in 2014 (fourth round) and 2017 (third round)

• She hit five of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 25 putts

• This is Ko’s seventh season on the LPGA Tour; she has 15 career victories including two majors, with her most recent victory coming at the 2018 MEDIHEAL Championship

• This is Ko’s third event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is T28 at the Drive On Championship

• This is Ko’s sixth appearance in the Marathon LPGA Classic; she won in 2014 and 2016, and has two other top 10 finishes

• Has spent 104 weeks at No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, fourth-most in history behind Lorena Ochoa (158 weeks), Yani Tseng (109 weeks) and Inbee Park (106 weeks)

• Won Best Female Golfer ESPY Award in 2015 and 2016

Rolex Rankings No. 44 Megan Khang (65)

• Khang’s first-round 65 is her lowest round ever at the Marathon LPGA Classic; her previous best was a 68 during the first and second rounds in 2017

• She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, with 24 putts

• This is Khang’s fifth season on the LPGA Tour; her best career finish is T3 at the 2017 Blue Bay LPGA

• This is Khang’s third event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is T11 at the Drive On Championship

• This is Khang’s third appearance in the Marathon LPGA Classic; her best finish is T41 in 2017

• In 2019, she had seven top-10 finishes, with a best finish at T4 at the Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group1001 in September