Zhang-Murphy takes the lead after round one of L’Auberge Lake Charles Championship

(Lake Charles, LA) – The first round of the L’Auberge Lake Charles Championship has come to an end and the playing field saw similar weather conditions from the week before. With strong winds howling throughout Contraband Bayou Golf Club, players’ course management skills were once again put to the test. However, the obstacles couldn’t stop Sophie Zhang-Murphy (Saratoga, CA) from turning in a 4-under 67, to sit at the top of the leaderboard. 

Zhang-Murphy started strong out of the gate with a birdie on her first hole. She then had four straight pars before bogeying her 6th hole. Despite the square on her scorecard, Zhang-Murphy answered right back birdie-ing the last two holes on her front nine, holding a 2-under 34 at the turn. 

“I think the wind actually made me focus better on just hitting the fairways and hitting the greens,” said Zhang-Murphy. “So I think overall it just made me focus more on where I currently was and not on the score.” 

Right behind Zhang-Murphy is San Ramon, CA native Yoonhee Kim who turned in a 2-under 69. Although Kim bogeyed her first hole, she was able to birdie the second hole before adding one more circle and square, making her front nine an even par 36. Kim finished her round with a bogey, a birdie and an eagle to put her at T2 heading into the second round. 

The second round will be a double-tee start at 8:00 a.m. at Contraband Bayou Golf Club with players looking to get inside the cut line. The cut will be made to the top 42 and ties. Entrance to the L’Auberge Lake Charles Championship is free to the public and we look forward to seeing you! If you cannot make it, follow along on our socials: Instagram - @womensallprotour, Facebook - WAPT.