Kim Se-young Shoots 4-Under With One Eagle and Two Birdies

7th Place for Kim Se-young in Round 1 of ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open
Rapa Leads, Five Players Including Woad and Takeda Tied for 2nd
Korda and Minjee Lee Tied for 7th, Kim A-lim in 17th

Kim Se-young showcased a perfect performance.

Kim Se-young Shoots 4-Under With One Eagle and Two Birdies

SeYoung Kim shot 4 under par in the first round of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open, starting tied for 7th place. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

On July 24 (local time), at Dundonald Links (par 72, 6,538 yards) in Ayrshire, Scotland, Kim Se-young carded a 4-under-par 68 in the first round of the LPGA Tour ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open (total prize money: $2 million), placing her in a tie for 7th. Charlotte Rapa leads with a 6-under-par 66, while five players, including Lottie Woad (England), who turned professional after tying for third at the Amundi Evian Championship, and Rio Takeda (Japan), are tied for second at 5-under-par 67, just one shot back. This tournament serves as a prelude to next week’s season-ending major, the AIG Women’s Open (total prize money: $9.5 million).

Kim Se-young recorded one eagle and two birdies. She made birdies on the 5th and 14th holes (both par 5s), then captured an eagle on the 17th hole (par 4). Despite missing the fairway nine times due to shaky tee shots, her greens-in-regulation rate stood out at 83%. She is two strokes behind the leader and has set the stage for her 13th career victory, five years after her last win at the Pelican Women’s Championship in November 2020.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda (USA) and major champion Minjee Lee (Australia), winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, also joined the group tied for 7th. Among Korean players, Kim A-lim finished tied for 17th (3-under-par 68), while Kim Hyo-joo, Yoon Ina, Yang Hee-young, and Joo Soo-bin ended the first round tied for 24th (2-under-par 70). Lim Jin-hee is tied for 43rd (1-under-par 71), and Jeon In-ji is tied for 55th (even-par 72). The 2017 tournament champion, Lee Mi-hyang, finished in a tie for 86th (2-over-par 74).