The start of 2024 ISPS HANDA Women\u2019s Scottish Open was delayed for an hour due to play and was again supended at 11:24 a.m. and until 1:30 p.m., a delay of just over two hours.<\/p>\n
After waiting over three hours to tee off, Australia\u2019s Minjee Lee finally got her round going on a breezy, partly cloudy Scottish afternoon with a birdie on No. 2. Slow and steady, the Aussie<\/a> would go on to make three-straight pars before grabbing another birdie on the second par-3 of the front, No. 6. With three more par-4s in her way of the turn, she managed to take those down with ease, securing pars with nine holes to go and the top of the leaderboard in sight. \u201cYeah, I just — I like the creativity of links golf,\u201d said Lee. \u201cYou know, obviously there was a lot of wind today so it was playing like a true links kind of golf course. Sometimes we don’t get as much wind but today was blowing a gale and I feel like just picturing the shots and just having to execute those shots, I think is I didn’t find it fun to play. Just when you execute it correctly, you get rewarded. So I like that aspect of playing in the wind and obviously there’s a lot of things like if you’re off the green, you can putt or chip or you can hit a hybrid. There’s so many options. I also think that’s kind of fun as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nLee kept that momentum going with a birdie on No. 10, and later notched her fourth birdie of the round on the Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, the par-5 14th. After that birdie, she joined the then leaders at 4-under with four holes remaining. With sunlight dwindling, Lee took her final swing at a solo-lead on No. 18, securing her fifth and final birdie of the round while going bogey-free.<\/p>\n