劲爆大瓜

ERIN, Wis. (AP) 鈥� Angel Yin started experimenting with a new putter about a month ago and decided to use it in a tournament for the first time at the most prestigious event in women鈥檚 golf.

The move worked well in the first round at Erin Hills.

Yin made a 13 1/2-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for a 4-under 68 and a share of the U.S. Women鈥檚 Open lead with A Lim Kim, Jinhee Im, Yealimi Noh, Rio Takeda and Julia Lopez Ramirez.

鈥淚 know U.S. Open is going to be extremely fast, so I wanted to find a putter that will hold the ground and just do what I want it to do,鈥� Yin said. 鈥淚t just so happened to be this putter. I started tinkering with it like about a month ago, and I got lucky to use it.鈥�

The 26-year-old from California qualified for the U.S. Women鈥檚 Open as a 13-year-old at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin, back in 2012. She has experienced plenty of ups and downs since at this event.

She tied for second at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina, but that's the last time she finished under par at the U.S. Women's Open. Yin missed the cut last year with a pair of 75s.

鈥淓ither really good or really, really terrible, where I don鈥檛 see the weekend,鈥� Yin said. 鈥淚 think it just says a lot about the championship. You have to play your best. There is no mediocre. 鈥� You can try to make good saves, but at the end of the day, if you don鈥檛 have it, you don鈥檛 have it.鈥�

The biggest surprise among the early leaders was Lopez Ramirez, who had a bogey-free round in her U.S. Women鈥檚 Open debut.

Lopez Ramirez won consecutive Southeastern Conference titles at Mississippi State in 2023 and 2024, but she suffered a major setback earlier this year when what she initially believed was a bout of food poisoning actually was a case of appendicitis. Less than three months after her appendectomy, the Spaniard was in early contention at the top event in women鈥檚 golf.

鈥淚 feel like my confidence is coming back,鈥� said Lopez Ramirez, whose highest finish this year is a tie for 29th.

Takeda started at No. 10 and made six birdies in a nine-hole stretch from No. 14 through No. 4 to make up for her bogeys at Nos. 17 and 2. Noh benefited from in the par-5 14th. Im had a bogey-free round that included four birdies in a span of five holes from Nos. 10-14. Kim made birdie putts of 42 1/2 feet on and 32 1/2 feet on

Chisato Iwai, Nasa Hataoka, Chiara Tamburlini, Youmin Hwang and Yui Kawamoto shot 69. Hinako Shibuno, Maja Stark, Pajaree Anannarukarn, Jiwon Jean, Shiho Kuwaki, Gaby Lopez and Mao Saigo were at 70. Saigo won the year鈥檚 first major, the in Texas.

Those scores are notable because only two players finished under par in at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania, with Yuka Saso posting a winning four-round total of 4-under 276. Saso, who is seeking her third U.S. Women鈥檚 Open title, had a 74 on Thursday.

Noh said the low scores at the 6,829-yard, par-72 course didn鈥檛 surprise her. Erin Hills鈥� difficulty often is based on the strength of the wind, and it was relatively calm early Thursday. Stronger winds are expected Friday.

鈥淭here are some tees out that are pulled up, and a lot of the par-5s, I think all of them are reachable,鈥� Noh said. 鈥淪ome par 3s were shorter than normal. So, I think for sure, with the minimal wind today, it was definitely a good scoring day.鈥�

As an indication of how forgiving this course can be when there isn't much wind, Brooks Koepka won the at 16 under to tie the tournament record during a pretty calm week at Erin Hills.

Vancouver's Anna Huang was the top Canadian after the opening round with a 74. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., ended the day with a 75 after a double bogey on No. 5.

Nelly Korda, the world鈥檚 top-ranked player, had a 72 as she chases her first U.S. Women鈥檚 Open title. She has never finished her than a tie for eighth.

Korda entered this week having birdied an LPGA Tour-leading 29.17% of the time, but she didn鈥檛 make a single birdie until her final hole of the day. This still represented a better start for Korda than last year, when she made a 10 on her third hole of the tournament, carded an 80 in the opening round and went on to miss the cut.

鈥淥verall, I can鈥檛 complain,鈥� Korda said. 鈥淔irst day of the U.S. Open, it鈥檚 all about patience. I鈥檓 striking it pretty well, so hopefully I can carry that into the next couple days.鈥�

Second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul had a 75. No. 3 Lydia Ko shot 73.

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AP golf:

Steve Megargee, The Associated Press