This post details the first round results for my 2024 Women’s Open replay at St. Andrews (Birthplace). It also compares the actual R1 results with those from my replay. An earlier post described the setup procedure for this replay, based on actual tournament conditions and results.
Actual Event
The first round of the 2024 Women’s Golf Classic took place on Thursday, August 22. With par at 72, Charley Hull finished the day in first place with a score of 67 at 5-under par.
Just one shot behind were Nelly Korda and Ronni Yin, both shooting 68 (4-under). A group of six players tied for fourth place with scores of 69 (3-under). This group included Andrea Lee, Mi Hyang Lee, Mao Saigo, Jenny Shin, Patty Tavatanakit, and Lilia Vu. Hyo Joo Kim and Momoko Osato both posted a 70 (2-under par), tied for tenth place.
Lydia Ko, who would go on to win the tournament, shot a 71 (1-under par) in the first round and did not make the top 10 leaderboard. Jiyai Shin, who would eventually tie for second place, also shot a 71. By contrast, the other eventual second place finishers—Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, and Ronni Yin—all finished the first round in the Top 10, setting themselves up nicely early in the competition.
The actual first round ended with a tight leaderboard with no major separations, keeping the tournament wide open going into the second round. The actual R1 leaderboard for the Top 10 is provided below:
Replay Event
At the end of the first round of the replay, Ally Ewing, Linn Grant, Nelly Korda, and Hinako Shibuno were tied for the lead at 68 (4-under par). Just behind them at 3-under par (69) were Ayaka Furue, Brooke Henderson, Alison Lee, Jeeno Thitikul, and Lilia Vu. Mao Saigo finished alone in 10th place at 2-under (70).
A comparison of the replay to the actual tournament shows mixed results through round 1. Lydia Ko, who would go on to win the actual tournament, opened with a 2-over par 74 in the replay, placing her in a tie for 28th place and six shots behind the leaders. Although Nelly Korda (T1) and Lilia Vu (T5) made the Top 10 leaderboards for both the replay and actual tournament, Ronni Yin—an eventual co-runner-up—did not. She shot a 3-over-par 75, tied for 31st place after the first round of the replay.
The replay R1 leaderboard for the Top 10 is provided below:
Women’s Open 2024 – Round 1 ResultsNotable results for round 1 of the replay include:
- Patty Tavatanakit drove hole no. 7’s green, a drive of 320 yards.
- Ally Ewing eagled hole no. 1.
- Nelly Korda and Haeran Ryu hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation. (Avg. = 13.7)
- Celine Boutier, Hunako Shibuno, Linnea Ström, and Rose Zhang hit 16 of 16 fairways. (Avg. = 13.3)
- Lexi Thompson led all players in average driving distance (two holes) at 285 yards. (Avg. = 248)
- Charley Hull led all players in average driving distance (all drives) at 265 yards. (Avg. = 245)
- Esther Henseleit had the longest drive of 330 yards on hole no. 18.
- Sei-young Kim sunk the longest putt at 58 feet on hole no. 13.
- Ayaka Furue had the longest total distance of putts made at 160 feet. (Avg. = 82.3)
- Linn Grant had the fewest putts at 27. (Avg. = 32.1)
- Sarah Schmelzel took the most putts at 38.
- Rose Zhang, Ronni Yin, Haeran Ryu, Megan Khang, and Ally Ewing all 4-putted.
The complete set of statistical results for round 1 of the replay can be viewed by clicking on the upper righthand corner of the PDF below.