U.S. Women's Open -- Day 1 Wrap-Up

Ha-Neul Kim does not normally play on the LPGA tour.  Instead, she plays on the Korean LPGA tour, where she has won seven times.  But she looked very much at home today, shooting a 6-under par 66 in the late afternoon to take a one-shot lead over Inbee Park, who is trying to win her third major tournament of the year.  Given how well Inbee Park has played this year, you have to still consider her a heavy favorite.  However, we've seen in recent years that the quality of Korean golf is so deep that no winner from that country can really be considered a surprise.

We hear a lot about the Korean golfers, but the diversity in the women's game is quite extraordinary.  To make the list below, I had to look up the country codes for Chile, Venezuela, and the Philippines -- three countries that don't usually make a big splash in international competition.

Here is the top of the leaderboard:

1.  H.N. Kim (KOR):  -6 (66)

2.  I. Park (KOR):  -5 (67)

T3.  C. Hedwall (SWE):  -4 (68)
T3.  L. Salas:  -4 (68)
T3.  I.K. Kim (KOR):  -4 (68)
T3.  A. Nordqvist (SWE):  -4 (68)

T7.  P. Echeverria (CHI):  -3 (69)
T7.  M.A. LeBlanc (CAN):  -3 (69)

T9.  M. Uribe (VEN):  -2 (70)
T9.  J. Ewart Shadoff (ENG):  -2 (70)
T9.  N. Gulbis:  -2 (70)
T9.  J.Y. Yang (KOR):  -2 (70)
T9.  K. Icher (FRA):  -2 (70)
T9.  J. Rosales (PHI):  -2 (70)
T9.  C. Matthew (SCO):  -2 (70)
T9.  J. Korda:  -2 (70)