Mexico's Lauren Olivares set the pace on day one of the inaugural Smoky Mountain Championship presented by Food City, carding a bogey-free 8-under 64 at Green Meadow Country Club to take a two-shot lead — a round that stands as the tournament's new 18-hole competitive scoring record in its first playing.

Olivares, who broke through for her first Epson Tour win at the Great Lakes Championship in June, made eight birdies, including four in a row, without a single blemish on her card this afternoon.

Olivares credited a cleaner day off the tee for setting up her round. “I think just hitting to my targets off the tee,” she said. “I was struggling a lot with my driver. I think this day, it's been the first day in a while that I'm not losing balls or was just in the fairway.”

She pointed to her stretch of four consecutive birdies as the turning point, saying her speed and read on the greens “were breaking the way we thought,” paired with a driver that stayed in play.

The round moved through a short weather delay, and Olivares said staying present opposed to tracking her score, helped her keep the card clean. “I was so present today,” she said. “A guy asked me about my score, I was like, I don't know, what's my score?”

She also credited her boyfriend, who is caddying for her this season, with helping keep her focused, saying his lack of a competitive golf background lets him “see it through her eyes” rather than overload her with instruction.

The win in Michigan already locked in the No. 1 spot in the 2026 Race for the Card, and Olivares said that security has let her focus on the process rather than the standings. “I already have my card basically for next year,” she said. “Just trying to improve my game.”

She's also managing a back issue by adjusting her swing as she plays out the rest of the Epson Tour slate. Asked whether the cushion at the top might ease her foot off the gas the rest of the season, she said the hunger hasn't faded: “I still want to dominate the tour here out here.”

Rachel Kuehn and Liqi Zeng share second at 6-under 66, both also playing bogey-free rounds. Kuehn, playing close to the Tennessee roots she shares with her mother, called the week “a really special connection” and said she's focused on the job at hand: a couple more good finishes to lock up her LPGA card.

Zeng, drained three consecutive birdies on hole four through six and, said her putter did the work: “I missed a couple short putts, but it's bogey-free, it's nice.”

A trio shares fourth at 5-under 67: Hailey Borja, Elizabeth Moon and Sarah White. Borja, a Michigan alumna, opened with a bogey on the first before running off six birdies over her final 17 holes. Moon and White each played bogey-free, with White — fresh off a putter change following a difficult finish at Avon — calling her course management “really good” after a round that never let her feel out of position.

Round two will begin Friday morning at Green Meadow Country Club. The inaugural Smoky Mountain Championship continues to deliver drama and opportunity for these rising stars chasing LPGA dreams.

Lauren Olivares Fires a Bogey-Free 8-Under 64 to Take the Round One Lead at the Inaugural Smoky Mountain Championship presented by Food City

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