Ryu Hae-ran shoots 66 in Round 1 of AIG Women's Open, chasing third straight major

Ryu Hae-ran opened the AIG Women's Open — the season's fifth and final major, with a $10 million purse — with a share of second place Thursday, putting herself in position to win three consecutive major titles.

Playing at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Links (par 71) in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, Ryu carded six birdies and one bogey for a 5-under-par 66 in the first round.

The round left Ryu tied for second alongside Japan's Kuwaki Shiho. She trails sole leader Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand — ranked second in the world — by two strokes after Thitikul fired a 7-under 64.

Ranked third in the world, Ryu has been on a strong run: she won the KPMG Women's PGA Championship late last month and then captured the Amundi Evian Championship, the season's fourth major, which concluded July 12. A victory here would make her the first player to win three consecutive women's major titles since Park In-bee did it 13 years ago.

Ryu wasted no time, making birdie on the par-3 first hole to open her round. She added another on the par-4 fourth, then birdied the par-5 sixth and seventh holes in succession to reach 4 under through the front nine. She parred her way through much of the back nine before a bogey on the par-4 15th, but bounced back with birdies on the par-4 16th and par-4 18th to close strongly.

Ryu missed three fairways and three greens in regulation and needed 28 putts. Several mid-to-long-range birdie putts dropped, providing the foundation for her round.

"Honestly, it was really tough," Ryu said. "There are so many bunkers that I avoided the driver a lot, but I still found three of them. Keeping it to one bogey made it a good day."

She added that links conditions can be unforgiving even when you hit good shots. "On a links course, the fairways are firm and there's so much undulation that the ball just trickles into bunkers. You find yourself wondering, 'Why is my ball over there?'" she said. "Tomorrow I tee off in the afternoon, so the wind will probably be stronger. I'll just accept whatever situation I'm in and play my game."

Thitikul made seven birdies without a bogey in pursuit of her first major title. The Thai star has nine LPGA Tour wins, including two this season, but has yet to claim a major.

Amateur Yang Yun-seo, a high school student at Incheon Women's High School Broadcasting and Communications High School, shot a 1-under 70 to share 17th place with Im Jin-hee, Joo Su-bin and others. Yang earned her spot in the field by winning the Asia-Pacific Women's Amateur Championship in February.

Kang Min-ji was tied for 26th at even-par 71, alongside 2024 champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand. Shin Ji-eun, who ended a 10-year winless drought at last week's ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open, carded a 1-over 72 to share 37th place with Yang Hee-young, Kim Sei-young, Lee Mi-hyang and defending champion Yamashita Miyu of Japan.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States and Shin Ji-yai — a two-time champion here, having won in 2008 and 2012 — were tied for 53rd at 2-over 73. Yoon Yi-na, Lee So-mi and Kim Min-sun, who competes on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, shared 75th place at 3-over 74.