Lauren Coughlin and Japan's Nasa Hataoka and Miyu Yamashita formed a three-way tie atop the leaderboard after one round of the inaugural Aramco Championship on Thursday in Las Vegas.
The leaders posted rounds of 5-under-par 67 at Shadow Creek Golf Course. Three more are on their tails at 4-under 68: World No 2 Nelly Korda, Jing Yan and South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim, who has won two straight LPGA Tour events entering the week.
The Aramco Championship, co-sanctioned by the LPGA and Ladies European Tour, features a purse of $4 million and replaces the T-Mobile Match Play on the schedule.
Coughlin, 33, is trying to get back in contention for an LPGA victory after winning her first two titles in 2024 and being shut out in 2025.
She could have been the outright first-round leader after collecting six birdies through 17 holes, but she made her only misstep of the day with a bogey at her final hole, the par-4 ninth.
"I feel like I know this place really well," said Coughlin, who lost in the final of the Match Play last year. "Been in a lot of the places (on the course) that you don't want to be, so I feel like I've been able to ... I just know the spots that I need to land it to a lot of the pins, where to miss if you have to."
'FUN TO FIGURE OUT' COURSE
Hataoka's round was the inverse of Coughlin's. She bogeyed the first hole, immediately bounced back at the second and went on to total six birdies.
"Before tournament get (started) we talk about my goal is 5-under total for four days," Hataoka said. "It was (not a) windier condition. That's why I made so many good birdies today."
Yamashita stood at 1 over through her first eight holes but turned it around thanks to an eagle 3 at the 18th hole and four birdies on her second nine, the front side.
"The course is tough, but it's fun to figure it out," Yamashita said through a translator. "So there is always a chance of making bogey, but I want to play patience in golf."
Korda played her first round with her sister Jessica Korda, who recently returned to competition after giving birth to her first child.
"I'm super rusty obviously but I had such a fun time," said Jessica Korda, who posted 3-over 75. "Her and Charley (Hull) are just such great players. I've been on the commentating side and the spectating side, and being inside (the ropes) is so much fun."