Evian Championship 2015: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and LPGA Highlights

The LPGA major season comes to a close this weekend with the 2015 Evian Championship in France. The event is still new to the major circuit, though the drama has been great—with Kim Hyo-joo fighting off Karrie Webb for a one-stroke win last year. 

Through 18 holes this year, things are shaping up to be just as exciting. Mi Hyang Lee and Lexi Thompson are tied for the lead at five under, but there are three others just one shot behind them and six others two shots behind. 

Here's how the top of the leaderboard looks after Thursday's opening round:

Pos.	Player	Score
T1	Mi Hyang Lee	-5 (66)
T1	Lexi Thompson	-5 (66)
T3	Eun-Hee Ji	-4 (67)
T3	Pornanong Phatlum	-4 (67)
T3	Gerina Piller	-4 (67)
T6	Shanshan Feng	-3 (68)
T6	Sei Young Kim	-3 (68)
T6	Beth Allen	-3 (68)
T6	Nicole Broch Larsen	-3 (68)
T6	Minjee Lee	-3 (68)
T6	Min Lee	-3 (68)
T12	Jin Young Ko	-2 (69)

Full leaderboard can be found at LPGA.com

Thursday Recap

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

Thompson was flirting with her second major title early in the year, finishing in the top seven at the ANA Inspiration and Women's PGA Championship, but fell on hard times tying for 42nd at the U.S. Women's Open and tying for 17 at the Women's British Open. 

Now, one round into the Evian Championship. the 20-year-old looks to be playing at a level closer to her early-season efforts with a 66. She did all of her damage in a four hole stretch from 12 through 15 with three birdies and one eagle. 

As for the secret to Thompson's turnaround, she told Will Gray of the Golf Channel that it's as simple as practicing and relaxing. 

"I would say I've just been working on consistency in my game," Thompson said. "I've been working with John Denney down in Florida and just trying to stay positive going into shots, doing my routine and focusing on my breathing walking into the shot. So I think that's helped."

More impressive than just being in a good head space was the way Thompson seemed to do everything right, as the stats tweeted out by the Evian Championship's official Twitter account show:

The good news for Thompson is she's off to a much better start here than when she won the 2014 Nabisco Championship, when she shot a 73 in the opening round. 

There's always a risk with a young player like Thompson that consistency from round to round will be a problem. She does have the benefit of already being a major champion, though that hasn't helped PGA star Jordan Spieth from missing two straight cuts. 

Lee's round wasn't as crisp as Thompson's, firing two bogeys over the final four holes, but she was brilliant otherwise with seven birdies. 

Gerina Piller actually had the most birdies in round one with eight total, though she should be frustrated at being tied for second place. The 30-year-old had several bad holes, including a six on the par-five 15, that she will have to correct quickly to stay in the mix. 

South Korean star and world No. 1 Inbee Park did not have a good first round. The 27-year-old, who won this tournament in 2012 before it became a major, is tied for 40th after firing a one-over 72. She's won six of the previous 14 majors, including the Women's PGA Championship and British Open this year.

This is a bad omen for Park, who got off to a slow start at this year's ANA Inspiration with a 74. Despite shooting under par in the next three rounds, she was too far behind the leaders to be a real factor on Sunday. 

It was not a particularly good day for two-thirds of the featured group on Thursday, per the Evian Championship's official Twitter:

Stacy Lewis has been frustrating to figure out this season. She's been in contention many times, finishing either alone in second or tied for second four times, but she doesn't have that one big victory to build her confidence. 

Things don't look like they will turn around for the American. Lydia Ko was the star of that trio, shooting two under, though she did stumble on the 18th hole with a bogey that ended the round on a sour note.

Eighteen-year-old Ko did have her best finish in a major at this tournament in 2013, ending two shots behind Suzann Pettersen. Her breakthrough is going to come soon, because she's too talented for it not to happen.

Even with the bad starts for Lewis and Park, there are still 54 holes for them to right the ship. They will need players like Thompson and Lee to slow down, and the rest of the field to play averagely, but the first-round leaderboard proves there are a lot of low scores to be had.