Round one of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship was one of the Epson Tour's most significant challenges this year, even with the perfect conditions. Battle Creek Country Club is one of the longer courses the field will see this year and penalizes you for missing fairways and greens. The long, dense rough is putting an emphasis on Greens In Regulation and Fairways In Regulation this week in the Great Lakes State. A few players were able to navigate the course and jump out ahead of the field in the first round.
Soo Jin Lee made her first appearance of the year when she teed off for her first at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. Lee, however, got around Battle Creek Country Club like she has been playing all year. The Australian made seven birdies and one bogey to turn in a round of 66 (-6) and will take a one-shot lead heading into moving day.
"I'm trying to keep things simple and not worry about scores," said Lee. "That's what I did today. One shot at a time, and I didn't think about what I was doing. I hit one shot, made the putts, and that's how I ended today. The rest of the week, I'll do the same."
Lee lives in Australia and made the trip to Battle Creek when she found out she was getting into the field. The 27-year-old made her first appearance on the Epson Tour in 2018 and has been a regular on the tour up until 2023. She cannot believe her position atop the leaderboard in her first event back.
"I had no expectations coming to this tournament. I didn't really even plan to play at all this year, but I got lucky and into the field," said Lee. "I flew in on Sunday and am flying back home to Australia on Monday. I don't know what just happened, but I had no expectation to be playing well. I'm trying to have fun out on the golf course."
Behind Lee in a share of second is Savannah Vilaubi, who has already taken home one trophy this year at Copper Rock Championship. The Epson Tour champion started her round hot with five birdies in her first 13 holes before finally making a bogey on her 14th hole. She would collect one more birdie coming in to fire a five-under 67, her best round since her week in Hurricane, Utah. Vilaubi is no stranger to putting together low rounds on challenging golf courses, and being near the top of the leaderboard is a spot she has been this year and is comfortable being in.
"Knowing I can do it means there's not a whole lot that I have to do to make something happen," said Vilaubi. "I know it's already there; I can put that in the back of my mind and pay attention to my process. That's really what kept me in it today. I was very process oriented and accepted that some putts are going to fall and some won't. I stayed diligent with the process."
Kathleen Scavo joins Vilaubi at -5 (67) for the day, who, like Vilaubi, was five-under through her first 13 holes before the first hiccup on her 14th hole of the day. Scavo found success early in the year at the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic with a runner-up finish. Since then, Scavo has yet to find the same success, but her game seems to be rounding back into form. She has made the last three cuts, with her first round today being the lowest round in that stretch. Scavo is sitting just outside the top 10 in the Race for the Card at No. 11, so a good performance this week can move her into a strong position heading into the week off.
"I'd say that I hit the ball really well. I hit a lot of good iron shots to put me in a good position for birdies," said Scavo. "And my putter was hot today. I made some really good putts, especially some momentum putts to keep it going."
Rounding out the rest of the top finishers are Kaleigh Telfer, Kristin Coleman, and Min-G Kim, who all were able to turn in cards of 68 (-4) and sit at T4 for the tournament.
QUICK QUOTES
Kristin Coleman (-4, T4) on closing out her day strong:
"After I made my birdie on my 10th hole of the day, I was on cruise control until the last few holes. I stuck a bunch of shots super close, just a few kick-ins. Then I finished it up with a nice putt on my last hole for birdie."
Anita Uwadia (-3, T5) on her 3-under first round:
"I think putting was going well. Hitting fairways always helps on this course. But I stayed present; hitting fairways and making putts will always give you a good round."
Robyn Choi (-3, T5) on her first-round mindset:
"It was pretty much to just play steady golf. Greens and fairways are good, as always, but today my shots weren't that great. It was kind of going all over the place, but luckily, my putting helped me out today. I think putting is a big key out here, and it's pretty narrow, so I was trying to hit fairways and greens."
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