Jeeno Thitikul leads Mizuho Americas Open after first with bogey-free, 8-under round

The LPGA is in action this week at Liberty National in New Jersey with the Mizuho Americas Open. Any event at Liberty National is certainly worth watching.

Part of what makes this event so unique is its inclusion of amateurs, specifically the 24 top players from the AJGA. It is a fun event where the game of golf is on display and celebrated, but at the end of the day it is still a competition.

Through the first round Jeeno Thitikul holds the lead thanks to a bogey-free round in which she finished 8 under par. A clean day is an easy way to put yourself in contention.

There is some stronger weather in the forecast for Friday so that could make matters a bit more tricky. For now though the leaderboard is pretty strong top to bottom with Nelly Korda and one of last season’s top rookies Gabi Ruffels, who also went bogey free, both sitting four under par. Last week’s Black Desert Championship winner Haeran Ryu is also knocking on the door one stroke up at 5-under.

As noted the weather could come into play and lead to some different scores as the weekend unfolds. Celine Boutier, who sits tied for second at 6-under, noted that Liberty National is a course that will bite back if you are not careful.

Yeah, definitely gives you a little bit of cushion. I feel like especially with the weather coming in tomorrow you just don’t know what you’re going to get, if we’re even going to be able to play. So just to have a good first round in is definitely a little bit of a relief and gives you a little bit of room to see what’s going to happen tomorrow.

We will see what this weekend has in store.