It is rare occurrence when both the first- and second-alternate at an LPGA Tour event get into the field on a Thursday morning, and it is rarer still when the alternates end up at the top of the leaderboard after the late call-in. But, that is exactly what happened for LPGA Tour rookies Mao Saigo and So Mi Lee on Thursday at the Mizuho Americas Open. The first-alternate in the field, Japan’s Saigo shot a 4-under 68 during the first round and sits at T2, while second-alternate Lee holds the solo lead after a 6-under 66.
“I didn't expect to play today, so I (was going to) just go to the park and going to run, but my father said, hey, just go and some practice and you have chance. And this makes this chance,” said Lee, who had already sent her caddie home but had her father there to carry her bag. “There was no kind of pressure to me, and it was just appreciated to play, yeah.”
Lee was practicing on the range around 10 a.m. when Germany’s Caroline Masson withdrew from the field and was replaced by Saigo, who had arrived at the course at 6 a.m. to be ready in case of a WD (a total of 6 hours and 5 mins before she eventually teed off at 12:05 p.m. ET). Alerted by a rules official that she was now the next alternate, Lee calmly continued her range session, then moved over to the short game area. She got the call an hour and a half later; Maja Stark had withdrawn due to illness and Lee would be teeing-it-up in less than an hour.
Though Lee said in a post-round interview, “at first I was kind of depressed and I think I can't play well today,” it didn’t seem that way to those watching from the outside. The Korean golfer and five-time KLPGA winner made birdie on her very first hole, No. 10, then made three straight on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. She lost a stroke with a bogey on 16, but quickly recovered with another birdie on the par-4 17th. She dropped another shot on hole 2 but earned that back and then some with birdies on Nos. 4, 5 and 8.
Four players sit in a tie for second including Saigo, Bianca Pagdanganan, Gabriela Ruffels and Andrea Lee. Ruffels was one of just four players to go bogey-free on Thursday, an impressive feat given the windy and rainy conditions at Liberty National Golf Club. The Australian, who is also a 2024 rookie, is coming off of a third-place finish at the Cognizant Founders Cup, which was also held in New Jersey and saw wet and cold conditions throughout the week.
“I feel like (I’m) definitely getting more comfortable. I mean, I feel like the confidence definitely goes up when you have a few good results and I've been fortunate to have a few good results this year, few Top 5s and one last week,” said Ruffles. “So, yeah, definitely feel like I'm getting more comfortable. But still kind of feel like a rookie. Kind of learning all the new courses. These girls have already seen they courses, but I'm lucky I have a pretty experienced caddie.”
On the AJGA side, Yana Wilson (36 points, 4th) had a great start to her title defense, but it was Thanana Kotchasanmanee was took the first-round lead with 38 points. The AJGA players are playing a modified Stableford format and from different yardages than the LPGA Tour pros. Kotchasanmanee played in last year’s inaugural playing of the Mizuho Americas Open, where she finished 24th in the AJGA field, which is comprised of just 24 players. Needless to say, she is happy to be off to a good start so far.
“Well, I learned to become more positive about it, because last year I didn't -- well, I just have some negative thought while playing,” said Kotchasanmanee on what she learned most from her performance last year. “So that negative thought really like pull me down and like drag me behind, so I was just -- I would just saying I have a more positive mind this year and I just love it.”
Defending LPGA Tour champion Rose Zhang, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner and an official Tour member with her win at last year’s Mizuho Americas Open, withdrew from the field after playing her first three holes on Thursday. Zhang cited illness and released a statement following her withdrawal, saying, in part, “I am really disappointed that I had to withdraw from the Mizuho Americas Open today. This tournament holds a special place in my heart, having had such an amazing week last year when I captured my first LPGA Tour win here at Liberty National. I was really looking forward to trying to defend my title, but unfortunately spent the last 12 hours with really bad intestinal pain.”
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