On a day that looked like the weather would be the point of focus, the field quickly turned the focus back to golf with birdies and bogeys coming out in full force. The field of 120 were able to avoid any severe weather, but still had to battle through intermittent showers and gusty wind conditions in round one. Eleven players posted rounds of 68 or better, with rookie, Benedetta Moresco, holding the top spot after the first 18 holes at the Guardian Championship.

It seemed like Moresco could not go a hole without making a birdie, rolling nine total in her opening round. The rookie was on pace for a special round after her first nine holes, making the turn with a 6-under 30 without a blemish on the card. That quickly changed however, with the first bogey of the day coming on No. 11 and another followed on No. 12.

“When it rains a little bit it's always my favorite day because I can see the brakes on my the green really well. So today the putter helped a lot, and I made a lot of birdies,” said Moresco. “I felt really comfortable out there. The greens were soft so I could go for the pins. So, it was a really good day.”

Moresco was unphased, making birdie on No. 13 to get a shot back. She finished her round by dropping two more putts for birdie on 16 and 17, finishing the day at 7-under and with a one-shot lead. The 7-under 65 is the lowest round Moresco has signed for on the Epson Tour this season and it will be her first time sleeping on the lead, but she is leaning on her experiences on the LPGA Tour this season to help her heading into the weekend.

“Playing on the LPGA is great experience for me. Definitely take whatever I can in every time I play out there,” explained Moresco. “You learn a lot even if you don't want to. I took all the experience I got in the last like half year and I put it into today.”

Karen Chung is one of three players who posted a 6-under 66 in the opening round of the Guardian Championship, but Chung was the only player to do it without a bogey on the scorecard. The 29-year-old made birdie on No. 1 and followed it up with seven straight pars before making her second birdie on No. 9. She started her back nine the same way she started her front nine, by rolling in another birdie and would add three more in the six holes. A par-par finish was good enough for Chung to head into the clubhouse just a shot back of the lead.

“You know today I just wanted to get through by just making pars. Honestly, I didn't want to press for anything because it's been a struggle the last couple of weeks,” said Chung. “I feel like I'm right there, but my game just hasn't been showing. So that's just kind of been what's keeping me going. Finally something happened today and I am excited for tomorrow.”

The second round of the Guardian Championship begins tomorrow at 7 AM CT with groups teeing off both holes 1 and 10 throughout the day. The cut will be made to the top 60 and ties after the second round and the field will be repaired based on score.

ABOUT THE LEADER

Benedetta Moresco carded a 7-under 65 in her opening round at the Guardian Championship

Moresco had nine birdies and two bogeys in her first round
She opened her tournament with a 6-under 30 on the front nine
The Italian has split time during her rookie season on the Epson Tour and LPGA Tour
She has made 7 cuts in 9 starts on the Epson Tour
Her best finish on the LPGA Tour was T19 at the CPKC Women’s Open
The 23-year-old played collegiately at the University of Alabama
She qualified for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open as an amateur

THINGS TO KNOW

Karen Chung posted a bogey-free 6-under 66 on day one

Chung rolled in two birdies on the front nine and four birdies on the back nine in route to her 6-under round
The 29-year-old is in search of her second top 10 finish this week
Her only top 10 finish came at the 2024 Atlantic Beach Classic where she finished T4
The veteran has 22 top 10 results on the Epson Tour since her rookie season in 2016
Chung has played in 40 LPGA Tour events including three major championships

Jennie Park signed for a 3-under 69 to start her Guardian Championship

Park is making just her sixth start on the Epson Tour this week
She has made the cut in 3 out of 5 of her previous starts
Her best finish is T32 at the 2024 Harford HealthCare Women’s Championship
The rookie shot a 6-under 30 the front nine after opening with a 3-over 39 on the back nine

QUICK QUOTES

Leah John (-5, T5) on her bogey-free 5-under opening round:

“I felt lucky today. It felt like easy golf that comes around not very often. I had my caddie out here with me this week and he just held me accountable for my process. I felt like last week there was a lot of things that I was doing well and I just wanted to try again this week. That's kind of all I really felt like. I rolled in some putts today, which was really nice. Some days it's not always like that.”

Jennie Park (-3, T12) on the difference between her front nine and back nine scores:

“I definitely made more the putts that I needed to make the front nine. I missed like two or three six footers on the back nine. The front nine I didn't miss any. So that that really helped my confidence. It was nice to have a nice round out here today. It's been quite a bit of a struggle this year, but it was good today.

Lauren Cox (-2, T23) on battling through the early weather in the first round:

“Well, we could see it all week that it was going to rain. I try not to just think about it too much. I actually kind of like playing in the rain. It was a good day. It was playing long today with the rain, so I felt like I gave myself a lot of good chances out there.”

Benedetta Moresco Moves into the Lead With an Opening 65 at the Guardian Championship

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