Familiar names returned to the top of the leaderboard after day one of the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic, with Cydney Clanton tied for the lead at 7-under with Malaysia's Ashley Lau and Slovenia's Ana Belac. Playing in the final pairing on Sunday last week with Clanton was Ingrid Lindblad, who is back in contention after opening her Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic with a 5-under round. The field barely snuck in before sunset after scattered thunderstorms caused roughly an hour delay around midway. More scattered rain appeared throughout the rest of the first round but did not cause any problems for the 108-player field.

Clanton came up just short at last week's Guardian Championship, carding a final-round 72 to finish in fourth for the event. However, the disappointing result did not weigh heavy on the veteran, as she put together her joint lowest round of the season on the Epson Tour with a 7-under 65. The round was bogey-free until her 18th hole of the day, where an offline tee shot put her in a difficult position to make par. A punch out and a missed green resulted in a bogey, but even with the bogey on the last hole and the final round from last week, Clanton is still optimistic about where her game is heading.

"I'm hitting my irons exceptionally well still, so I have a lot of really great looks and finally making the putts that everyone wants to make," explained Clanton. "I had plenty of opportunities coming down the stretch last week, which I think helped with the momentum. If I just continue to give myself opportunities and start making putts again, I know I can score, and that's what I did today."

A pair of Olympians Lau and Belac share the lead with Clanton as they went bogey-free in round one of the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic.

Lau posted her 7-under round in the morning wave, starting her day 3-under through six and making the turn at 3-under. The 24-year-old found birdies on the back nine much quicker, making back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12. A pair of pars is all that separated another set of back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, with Lau finishing the round with three straight pars to end her day.

Belac's day was much different than Lau's despite both players going bogey-free with the same score. The birdies for the Slovenian were much more spread out, making at least two pars between each birdie except for her back-to-back birdies on holes 2 and 3. Consistent play is familiar to Belac, as she searches for her 12th straight made cut this season and possibly her second career Epson Tour victory.

"I kind of like it visually off the tee. Some lines are just like a really comfortable," said Belac after round one. "You could test your whole game with some short clubs into the greens and some longer ones. Just kind of using the majority of your bag. I would obviously love to finish inside a top 10 or top 15, but I feel like I just got to take care of the stuff on the course and not overthink it. Then kind of see what happens after the last event."

Round Two of the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic will begin at 7:30 a.m. local time, with the cut being made to the top 60 and ties at the conclusion of the second round.

ABOUT THE LEADERS

Cydney Clanton, Ashley Lau, and Ana Belac share the lead at 7-under after round one at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic

Clanton

Clanton made eight birdies and one bogey in her opening round
She has three career wins on the Epson Tour
She won the 2023 Guardian Championship, 2019 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, and 2013 Four Winds Invitational
She has competed in over 150 LPGA Tour events, including 25 major championships
She won the 2019 Dow Championship on the LPGA Tour with partner Jasmine Suwannapura
Clanton has an additional eight top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour

Lau

Lau carded a bogey-free 7-under 65 on day one
The 7-under round was her best of the season
She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics representing Malaysia
The 24-year-old is in her sophomore season on the Epson Tour
She has two career top-10 finishes
Lau was the 2022 Big Ten Golfer of the Year

Belac

Belac signed for a bogey-free 7-under 65 at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic
The Slovenian was the 2020 Epson Tour Player of the Year
She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics representing Slovenia
The 27-year-old has made the cut in every event she has played this season
Her best placing is a runner-up finish at the Florida's Natural Charity Classic
Belac won the 2020 Carolina Golf Classic on the Epson Tour

THINGS TO KNOW

Becca Huffer carded a 5-under 67 and is two shots back of the leaders after 18 holes

The first round included six birdies and one bogey
The bogey came on the first hole, and the next 17 holes were bogey-free
Huffer has 16 top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour
Her most recent top-10 finish was at the 2024 Copper Rock Championship, where she had a T7 result
The 34-year-old finished No. 11 in the Race for the Card in 2023

QUICK QUOTES

Ashley Lau (-7, T1) on her struggles this year and gaining momentum down the stretch:

"I think this year I've been struggling a lot. Then last week I started to build some momentum, shot two rounds in the 60s the last few days. I just kind of wanted to build off that good momentum this week and honestly, just coming in with no expectations and just wanted to play like myself again. I think that worked out today."

Mariel Galdiano (-4, T8) on the pressure of the last events of the season:

"There's definitely a lot of pressure coming in and I kind of just like talk with myself and just be like, 'Hey, like you're close, but don't beat yourself up about it if you have a bad shot'. I've been keeping a close eye on the points and hopefully just inch my way in there, sneak into the 15."

Lauren Cox (-4, T8) on course conditions and getting her round in before the delay:

"The course was surprisingly dry. It will be nice to have a little bit of a later start tomorrow as well, so it was great. Overall, it was a good day."

Two Olympians and an LPGA Tour Winner All Tied for the Lead After the First Round in Tuscaloosa

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