Andy DevaneyIf you’re wondering whether the CPKC Women’s Open was going to deliver fireworks, Akie Iwai lit the fuse on Thursday with a bogey-free 64. The 20-something rookie from Japan waltzed around the fairways as if she’d been doing this for decades, rolling in seven birdies and finishing with a three-hole flourish at Nos. 8, 9 and 10.
It was the sort of opening round that makes veterans shake their heads and rookies pinch themselves.
“I won last week, but already it’s in the past, already past,” Iwai said, fresh off her maiden LPGA victory at The Standard Portland Classic. “That’s why I was change the mind good focus this week, yeah.”
That focus has her two shots clear of a crowded chasing pack at the CPKC Women’s Open. Five players – Leona Maguire, Jeeno Thitikul, Gaby Lopez, Megan Khang and 15-year-old amateur Aphrodite Deng – all posted tidy 66s to sit in striking distance.
The Rookie on a Roll
For Iwai, this is no fluke. The Rolex World No. 24 has quietly been stacking up a résumé that now includes one LPGA win, four top-10s and over $1 million in earnings this season. Thursday’s round was textbook efficiency: 11 of 14 fairways, 14 greens, just 25 putts – and not a single blemish.
Her only crime? Making it look far too easy in her very first appearance at the CPKC Women’s Open.
The Chasing Pack
Maguire, the steely Irishwoman, missed just one fairway all day – and birdied the hole anyway. “Yeah, more of the same,” she said when asked about her plan for the week. “The greens are rolling really nice. These are some of the nicest greens we’ve putted on in quite a while. Just keep giving myself chances.”
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul shook off early nerves and caught fire on her back nine with six birdies in her last 10 holes. “Yeah, I think just like another day at work for me… You can be worry. You can be nerves. But like at the end of the day you got to pass this as well,” she admitted about her first round as top dog.
Lopez, who’s missed four straight cuts at the CPKC Women’s Open, suddenly found her stride with six birdies coming home. “I feel that Canada is a community itself,” she said. “They are such a welcoming and warm community and they’re so amazing to us, the players.”
Khang, last year’s champion, birdied four of her first six holes on the back nine. “It’s always nerve-wracking coming back to a tournament you have won,” she said. “Obviously you would like to do it again.”
And then there’s Deng. At 15, the Canadian amateur not only holds the lowest amateur score but also sits atop the Canadian contingent. When asked if she was intimidated playing with LPGA stars, she shrugged: “Maybe the first time, but now I’m pretty used to it.”
Local Hero Henderson
Home favourite Brooke Henderson, Canada’s winningest golfer, needed her short game just to keep pace. She scraped together an even-par 71 after hitting only half her greens. “Yeah, it does give you confidence when you can be gritty and can grind it out and depend on those clubs,” Henderson said. “They’re the scoring clubs, and sometimes when you can have faith in them and trust them, definitely does make everything else a little easier.”
Precision Matters
While birdies and bogeys grab the headlines, the Audi Precision Award quietly lurks in the background. Yuri Yoshida and Ina Yoon were Thursday’s surgical standouts, each hitting 16 of 18 greens. The prize? A cool $25,000, plus another $25,000 donation to First Tee-Ontario.
What Comes Next
Day one belonged to Iwai, but the CPKC Women’s Open has a nasty habit of turning into a survival test. Records are there for the brave – remember Mao Saigo’s 61 last year – but so are landmines.
As Soo Bin Joo, sitting at four-under, put it after her own solid round: “I worked on everything, mental, swing, putting, chipping, literally everything. That’s how I think everything kind of clicked today.”
If everything clicks for Iwai again tomorrow, the rookie might just be on her way to back-to-back LPGA titles – and a Canadian crowd ready to adopt her as one of their own.
