Portland Classic: Perrine Delacour takes early lead after run of birdies in LPGA Tour tournament in Oregon

An early run of six birdies in seven holes, followed by three more in the final five, earned France’s Perrine Delacour the first-round lead at the Portland Classic in Oregon, one shot ahead of Gina Kim

Perrine Delacour leads the Portland Classic after a run of birdies in her opening round

Perrine Delacour birdied six of the first seven holes in her opening round as she finished nine under to take an early lead at the Portland Classic in Oregon.

The 29-year-old French player completed a bogey-free round of 63, following a run of six straight pars with three more birdies in the final five to edge ahead of Gina Kim by a single shot.

Delacour, who is seeking her first title on the LPGA Tour, said: “I didn’t know what my score was at some point. When you’re in that zone, you don’t realise your score and you’re not scared to do anything.

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“You go to every pin and you know it’s going to be fine. We knew it was going to be wet, so my main goal was to get my club as dry as I could, which we did pretty well with my caddie.”

Kim, who has missed nine cuts in her past 10 starts, recorded eight birdies without a bogey for her lowest round in two years, putting her one shot ahead of world No 2 Nelly Korda, Sweden’s Linn Grant and Olivia Cowan of Germany.

“It’s been tough this whole season, and I kept grinding through it,” said Kim. “I kept believing that maybe one of these days I’m going to be able to catch a good round like this. So it’s nice to hit the ground running.”

Korda began her round on the back nine and made four birdies on each side, with just one bogey sullying her card at the par-four 18th.

Grant recorded eight birdies and a single bogey, while Cowan recovered from a slow start on the back nine to come home in 30, birdieing six of her final seven holes.

Defending champion Andrea Lee opened with a six-under 66, the same score as Thailand’s Pavarisa Yoktuan, Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark and Megan Khang, who won last week’s CPKC Women’s Open.

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