my-hyang-lee-27

We all know what it’s like to reach the turn after a good nine holes. “Just keep it going,” we tell ourselves. “Nothing silly on the back nine and this will be a great round.” Inevitably, the wheels fall off and we’re left struggling to make the buffer zone. 

So imagine what it would be like to play the first nine holes in just 27 shots and be 9-under at the turn. (No, we can’t imagine it either.) That’s the scenario Mi Hyang Lee found herself in yesterday during the opening round of the JTBC Founders Cup at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona. 

22-year-old Lee’s nine-hole total equalled the LPGA record and left her needing to shoot four-under on her second nine (she played the back nine first) to break 60 and join Annika Sorenstam as the only player to shoot 59 in an LPGA Tour event. 

“I didn’t think the 59,” said Lee. “If I think the 59, maybe I shoot over par (on the last nine).”

Unfortunately, Lee, who registered seven birdies and an eagle in her first nine holes, could only manage a single birdie on the second nine, giving her a 10-under total of 62. 

“I had fun today,” she said. 

Lee’s 27 was the fifth in LPGA history, but only the second on a par-36 nine-hole stretch. Amy Yang shot a 9-under 27 last year, whilst Paula Creamer, I.K. Kim and Jimin Kang all achieved their 27s on a nine-hole loop with a par lower than 36. 

Sorenstam’s 59, recorded in 2001 at the Standard Register Ping, consisted of a 28 on her first nine holes and 31 on her second nine. And she didn’t use an orange ball.

What would you shoot if you were out in 27?

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