Alison Lee tied for 2nd at Kingsmill; Michelle Wie withdraws

May 14, 2015
(Courtesy of Kyumin Shim)

(Courtesy of Kyumin Shim)

By Brian Han

Korean American rookie Alison Lee put together an opening round 5-under 66 Thursday at the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va.

She is currently tied for second.

Lee led the field with seven birdies, but two bogeys on holes one and ten kept her a stroke off the leader Joanna Klatten.

The 20-year-old drove the ball well hitting 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation.

But she had trouble converting her greenside bunker shots into sand saves, which were the main reasons for her lost shots.

Ryu So-yeon led the South Korean players at tied-for-fifth after a bogey-free 4-under 67.

World No. 1 Lydia Ko shot an even-par 72 to tie for 40th, and Michelle Wie withdrew after an opening-round 78 (tied for 139th), citing a hip injury.

Wie does not have a top-10 on the LPGA Tour this season.