Third-year Brooke Pancake birdied six of her first seven holes before winds kicked up and then hung on with pars the rest of the way to fire a 6-under 67 and take a one-stroke lead over a trio of players Thursday in the first round of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
Pancake, 24, of Chattanooga, led by one over Natalie Gulbis, Brittany Lincicome and Inbee Park, who was supplanted this week as the No. 1 player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings by teenager Lydia Ko. Like Pancake, all three players at 68 escaped without a bogey.
Four players were at 4-under 69, including Joanna Klatten, who had completed 12 holes before heavy rains suspended play at the Ocean Club Course at 2:46 p.m. EST. Also at 69 and finished with their rounds were Ariya Jutanugarn, Azahara Munoz and Gerina Piller.
Bahamas native Raquel Riley was 2 over through five holes when storms moved in, bringing high winds and torrential rain that eventually led to play being suspended for the day at 4 p.m. Sixty players will return at 8 a.m. Friday to complete their first round.
Ko, who last week finished tied for second to Na Yeon Choi at the season-opening Coates Golf Championship presented by R+L Carriers, in Ocala, Fla., was 1 under through eight holes when play was called. Defending champion Jessica Korda, playing alongside Ko, stood at even par.
After missing the cut last week in Ocala, Pancake was in the second group to go off the 10th tee, when the winds were relatively calm, and she took full advantage. She managed to avoid a bogey despite hitting just nine greens in regulation. She finished the day with 20 putts.
“I luckily got to get out early this morning and really took advantage of not as strong -- there’s still wind but not as strong of a wind on my first nine, and I putted really well,” said Pancake, who had her husband Derek on the bag as her caddie. “I gave myself a lot of birdie looks, and I really took advantage of those.”
Pancake, who recently signed a sponsorship deal with Waffle House, didn’t waffle on her second nine when the winds started freshening. “I’ve been in situations in the past where I’ll have a really great round going and then I’ll have a couple bogeys here and there,” she said. “I definitely have a lot of trust and confidence in my short game right now, so as I was turning into the front nine, and if I missed a couple greens, it didn’t frazzle me because it was coming so easily on the front nine. It was definitely a really good testament to where my game is headed for the rest of the year.”
The third annual Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic is the second of 33 events on the LPGA schedule. It offers a $1.3 million purse with $195,000 going to the winner. The 120-player field features six of the top 10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
Second-day television coverage on Golf Channel will be 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. EST.