Lydia Ko of New Zealand poses for the cameras with her gold medal after the final round of the women’s golf tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (AP Photo/Matt York) IRVINE, Scotland (AP) — Two-time major winner Minjee Lee of Australia coped with strong winds and lucked out with rare sunshine in a rainy Scottish summer. She shot 5-under-par 67 on Thursday to move one stroke ahead in the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open before play was suspended for the day. Lydia Ko, who just won her Olympic golf medal and was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, contended with the worst weather at Dundonald Links, managing five birdies in her round of 69. Former U.S. Women’s Open champion A Lim Kim and American Megan Khang were tied at 68. The opening round was suspended due to bad weather and a waterlogged course. England’s Lily May Humphreys was 4 under par with six holes to go. Play was suspended for about an hour early due to rain, and there was a further weather-related delay of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Lee is coming off a disappointing Olympics outside Paris in which she was never in contention and finished tied for 22nd. She played a difficult course without a bogey, making birdies on both par 5s on the back nine. “I’m always a happy girl after a bogey-free round,” Lee said. “I think I played smart golf, I would say. I created a lot of opportunities for birdies. I think when I was in trouble, I kind of missed it in the right places and was able to get up and down, so that was good.” Lee believes she was lucky not to have to deal with the brunt of the rain, although she couldn’t escape the fierce wind. Ko got the worst of both, and described the weather as so chaotic that she was too busy dealing with it to get overly stressed. “If it’s just windy, it’s fine. But it was windy and rainy,” Ko said. “It’s difficult when you have to hold the umbrella sideways and not up. I’m pretty sure it was built so you can hold it vertically. So it’s just very difficult out there.” Ko managed a 69, although she only made one birdie on the par 5s. With the wind direction, both of the front par 5s were reachable. Still, she had no complaints given the weather. “That’s just part of the experience of coming here. If you don’t like it, you’re probably not going to play as well anyway,” Ko said. “So it’s more about following through and knowing that sometimes you’re not going to be on the fairer side of the draw. But that’s part of playing tournaments in this part of the world.” England’s Charley Hull was battling for the lead until a bogey on the par-5 14th hole derailed her momentum. She finished in the 70-and-under group that included Esther Henseleit of Germany, who won the silver medal at the Paris Games. The tournament is the last stop before the Women’s British Open next week at St. Andrews. ___ AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Australian Minjee Lee leads the rain-delayed Women’s Scottish Open with an opening shot of 67
