Esther Henseleit opens the CME Group Tour Championship with a strong 68, placing her T7 after the first round.
The LPGA Tour season finale teed off on Thursday under ideal conditions at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. Sixty of the season’s best players qualified for the CME Group Tour Championship, and Germany’s Esther Henseleit made an immediate impact. With a four-under-par 68, she sits tied for seventh, four shots behind leader Somi Lee. The South Korean carded a brilliant 64 to take a two-stroke lead over American Allisen Corpuz, who posted a 66. A group of four players, led by Race to CME leader Jeeno Thitikul, trails closely behind.
Strong Front Nine Propels Henseleit into Top 10
Henseleit’s tournament began in ideal fashion. She birdied the opening par-5 and followed it up with another birdie on the second hole to quickly move to two-under. Additional birdies on holes 6 and 8 highlighted her front nine, with her only blemish being a bogey on the 9th. She continued her momentum on the back nine with a birdie on the 10th to reach four-under. A stretch of five pars followed before she bogeyed the 16th and bounced back with a birdie on 17 to finish at 68. Her accuracy off the tee was key, hitting 12 of 14 fairways and setting up numerous birdie chances.
Somi Lee Leads After Near-Flawless 64
Somi Lee delivered a standout performance in round one. After a four-under 32 on the front nine, she added three more birdies and an eagle on the par-5 17th. A missed short putt on the 18th led to her only bogey of the day, but she still signed for an impressive eight-under 64. Lee heads into the weekend with a two-shot cushion and plenty of momentum.