TROON, Scotland — On one of the most iconic golf courses in the world, Amy Olson of Fargo played Royal Troon like she grew up on it. The North Dakota State graduate a four-under 67 on Thursday to take a three-shot lead after the first round of the AIG Women's Open.
Olson had a bogey on No. 3, but turned it on after there with birdies on 4, 6, 11, 14 and 16. She shot a three-under 32 on the back nine to lead a trio of players at 1-under: Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa, Marina Alex from the United States and Sophia Popov from Germany.
"Best ball-striking day of my life," Olson said in a post-round interview.
Conditions were tough with winds in excess of 30 mph. It's the fourth time Olson has held the lead in a major tournament.
“The conditions, honestly, were just so tough today,” Olson said on the LPGA website. “It was the best ball striking day of my life, especially the first nine holes into the wind where you are hanging on for dear life.”
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Playing in tough conditions was nothing new to Olson, who as a youth player played at Oxbow Country Club and collegiately at NDSU.
“Where I grew up in North Dakota it gets very windy and I learned to hit the ball low,” Olson told the LPGA. “We hit it high in the States, but when I come over her I can get it down again.”
