Scores were low to start the third annual Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic, with 100 players breaking par on the day. No one could catch Kate Smith-Stroh, who carded her best career round on the Epson Tour during the morning wave and currently leads two-time Epson Tour winner Jenny Bae and Baylor University grad Amy Lee by 1-shot after 18 holes.
Smith-Stroh started her tournament on the back nine and took advantage of the easier set of holes that appear early on that side. She made par on No. 10 to start the day, then rolled in four straight birdies before her second par of the day on No. 15. The 25-year-old then made back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 before closing the first nine holes out with a par on No. 18 for a 6-under 30.
The second nine holes also started off hot, with Smith-Stroh making three birdies in her first five holes. The only bogey of the day came at No. 6, but Smith-Stroh would bounce right back with a birdie on No. 7 to get back to 9-under for the day. Two pars closed out the day for the Minnesota native who is searching for her first career win in Oregon.
"It feels good. I feel like things are in the right spot," said Smith-Stroh. "You really have to get all the par fives. They're all gettable. Then hope you find a few more birdies on the rest of the track. The pins aren't too bad today. I just kind of got off to a good start. I think it's my lowest round on the Epson Tour. So, it was a great day, and I enjoyed most every minute of it."
Jenny Bae and Amy Lee both turned in impressive 8-under rounds, with Bae going bogey-free over the 18 holes. Bae, like Smith-Stroh, was in the morning wave and started on the back nine for the tournament. She had a solid first nine holes, making three birdies before she made the turn onto the front nine. The 22-year-old then put on a clinic during her last nine holes, making four birdies through five holes to start the nine. The rest of the way was mistake-free, and she added two more birdies to turn in her round of 64.
"I haven't played this well in the first round in a while, so I definitely need to take it into the next few days," explained Bae. "I think I'm going to try and not change anything as much as possible, but if I do change anything, I would probably just tighten things up on my short game a little bit. Other than that, I kind of want to just stay in the moment."
Lee, on the other hand, was off in the afternoon wave and posted the low score of the day in that wave. She was the only person to match Smith-Stroh at 9-under before she dropped a shot on No. 17. Before the bogey, Lee was 9-under 16, with seven birdies and an eagle. The par 5's were Lee's bread and butter in round one, playing the four par 5's in 4-under par.
ABOUT THE LEADER
Kate Smith-Stroh holds the lead after a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic
- Smith-Stroh made 10 birdies and one bogey in her first round
- She posted a 6-under 30 on her first nine holes
- The 9-under round is her lowest score on the Epson Tour
- The Minnesota native has made 8 of 13 cuts this season
- She has made the cut in her last five starts
- Her best finish this season came at the Twin Bridges Championship (T6)
- The 25-year-old has only one over-par round in her last 15 rounds played
THINGS TO KNOW
Jenny Bae posted a bogey-free 8-under 64 in her first round
- Bae is a two-time champion on the Epson Tour
- She won back-to-back events during her rookie season in 2023
- She has three top 10 finishes this year
- Her best placing was fourth at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic
- Her 8-under 64 opening round is her best round of season by 3-shots
Ana Belac signed for a bogey-free 6-under 66 on day one of the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic
- Belac is the 2020 Epson Tour Player of the Year
- She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics representing Slovenia
- The 27-year-old has made the cut in every event she has played this season
- Her best placing is a runner-up finish at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic
- Belac won the 2020 Carolina Golf Classic on the Epson Tour
QUICK QUOTES
Jennifer Rosenberg (-7, T4) on what this week means for her season:
“This is really important. It kind of determines whether I will play in Pre-Qualifying next week. I kind of tried not to put too much pressure on myself and trying to stay kind of calm and cool. I played really solid today and rolled some putts in, which was really nice. It'll give me some momentum into tomorrow and hopefully finish with a good tournament.”
Gabriella Then (-7, T4) on her 7-under opening round:
“It was very tame in the beginning. Literally I was lipping out like crazy like one, two, three. I had so many limp outs. I probably had at least 4 to 5 today, including my one and only bogey on number 12. I think the first putt that rolled in was that eagle on the par five, which was a really good bonus. Then I started seeing the lines a little better and the speed.”
Lauren Stephenson (-6, T8) on a solid opening round after winning in her previous Epson Tour start:
“It was an interesting few weeks off because I played Portland (LPGA) and I played terrible. So, it was a great reassessment for me. I got to see my coach and I needed to work on a lot of things in my golf game. It was nice to kind of like, enjoy the win and then have a good reset. Now I know that what I'm working on for the last few weeks is going to work out for me down the stretch.”
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