Memorial Park Golf Course (par 72), the battleground for the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA Tour season, features five par-5 holes and five par-3 holes. Having more par-5 holes than a typical course can favor long hitters. However, having one more par-3 hole than a standard course is highly likely to serve as a significant variable.
In the first round held on Thursday (Korea time) at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas, the prediction that long hitters would have the advantage proved accurate. Nelly Korda of the United States, ranked fifth in driving distance this year at 287.20 yards, shot a 7-under 65 to take the sole lead by two strokes. Korda carded seven birdies without a bogey, four of which came on par-5 holes.
Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, who shot a 5-under 67 and is tied for second, is also known as a long hitter. She currently ranks 32nd in driving distance this year at 276.43 yards, but she was eighth in driving distance in 2021. Tavatanakit, who also made five birdies without a bogey, shaved three strokes off on par-5 holes.
Yoon Efa, who shot a 3-under 69 and is tied for eighth, is one of Korea's representative long hitters. She is ranked 12th in driving distance at 282.73 yards, the highest ranking among Korean players this year.
Yoon's 282 yards on the opening day was the second-longest drive among the 132 players in the field. Tavatanakit hit the longest at 286.5 yards, while third place behind Yoon went to last year's driving distance leader Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain at 276 yards. Ramirez also had a solid start, shooting a 1-under 71 to tie for 25th.
On the opening day, the five par-5 holes ranked as the five easiest holes on the course. The 3rd hole, where 65 birdies poured in, played as the easiest at an average of 4.485 strokes, followed by the 1st, 16th, 8th, and 14th holes.
In contrast, all five par-3 holes were among the nine most difficult holes. The 11th hole, which averaged 3.25 strokes, was the second-most difficult of the 18 holes, and the 7th hole, where Yoon recorded a double bogey, was the fourth-most difficult. The 2nd hole played as the fifth-most difficult, the 9th hole as the eighth, and the 15th hole as the ninth.
The player with the highest greens in regulation rate in the first round was none other than Lee So-mi. She missed the green on only two of 18 holes, boasting an 88.9% rate. Interestingly, despite that high greens in regulation rate, Lee failed to make a single birdie on the par-3 holes. Instead, she recorded her only bogey on the par-3 9th hole. Lee also hunted four of her six birdies on par-5 holes.
The Chevron Championship, the first major of the season, is becoming a "par-3 hell, par-5 heaven."
