Paula Reto opened her campaign in the Amundi Evian Championship on Thursday with a two-over-par 73 for a share of 91st after the first round at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, France.
It was a round which started with her first bogey of the day on the first hole, and which included four more dropped shots. She did manage to make three birdies, and she ended the day nine strokes off the three-way share of lead.
She was more fortunate than her countrywoman, the only other South African in the field: Ashleigh Buhai played only a couple of holes during round one when her toe, which was broken at the time of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, started hurting again at the hilly Champions Course in Evian. Buhai was then forced to leave the championship, citing the injury as she said, “I was optimistic, but unfortunately, my toe didn’t hold up on the hills here in Evian.”
Major champion Patty Tavatanakit, LPGA Tour winner Gemma Dryburgh and recently-turned professional Ingrid Lindblad shot seven-under 64s to share the top spot on the leaderboard.
Six players sit tied for fourth at six-under, including 2014 Amundi Evian champion Hyo Joo Kim, who notched seven birdies and one bogey on 12 that kept her one shot back of the top trio. The 2015 champion, Lydia Ko, is also among the group tied for fourth after her 65 on Thursday. Ko is making her 11th appearance in the major championship, and a win on Sunday could get her past the 27 points needed for LPGA Hall of Fame induction. She earned her 26th Hall of Fame point with her win at the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Five players are tied for 10th at five-under, including LPGA Tour winners Haeran Ryu and Madelene Sagstrom. Defending champion Celine Boutier and Rolex Rankings number one Nelly Korda are in a tie for 21st at two-under. Melanie Green, who most recently became the first American since 1996 to win the Women’s Amateur Championship, is the top amateur at two-under through 18 holes.
