Perrine Delacour’s Late Push Leads LPGA to 69th at AIG Women’s Open

French player Perrin Delacour got off to a hot start at the AIG Women’s Open on Thursday, carding a 3-under 69 to sit atop the leaderboard through 18 holes at Walton Heath Golf Club. It was a rocky start as she bogeyed the par-4, 2nd hole in 29, but she quickly erased that mistake with a birdie at the fourth. Delacour dropped another shot on the par-3 9th hole. And to move to 2-over on the day, again no. Slipped in 11; Not letting it get to her, however, the LPGA Tour champion dug deep and put the pedal down on her final seven holes. He made five birdies in that final stretch, three of which came in a row on holes 16, 17 and 18, and credited his flat stick for his solid showing on the first day of the final major of the 2023 LPGA Tour season.

„My putting was really good, especially on the back nine,” said Delacour, who recorded 29 putts in the first round. „I birdied the last three holes, but I birdied 14 and 12. The putting was definitely really good. I see good putts, and then my caddy helps me a lot. So we’re a good team. Together.”

Delacour makes her fourth start at the AIG Women’s Open this week and has finished T39, T34 and missed the cut in her last three appearances at the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. The 69 was his lowest first-round score in a major championship and tied for the second-lowest first-round score of the 2023 season, his last shot at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Blastpro in April. It was Delacour’s 11th round in the 60s this year. It was her 14th start of the season and she has five top-20 finishes so far, including a career-best ninth-place finish at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play presented by MGM Rewards.

While many players try to bottle up what they got on day one in Surrey, England, Delacour has already turned his impressive side away from his first round and will instead focus on preparing himself and his game for another battle with Walton Heath on Friday. Winning major championships usually requires a short memory, and that’s something Delacour has been emphasizing of late.

„Tomorrow is a new day” she said. „I’ve been working with my team to not duplicate it both days. Tomorrow is coming and I’m going to have a new feeling. I’m going to try to listen to my body and see from there. .”