Liu rides wind to the top

BELMONT, Mich. — Unseasonably cold weather and gusty winds caught players off guard on Day 1 of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, as overcast skies and 15–17 mph gusts made for a demanding opening round at Blythefield Country Club.

Yan Liu thrived in the testing conditions, surging to the top of the leaderboard in Thursday’s morning wave with a six-under-par 66. She opened fast, rolling in four birdies across a five-hole stretch from Nos. 4–8, offset by a lone bogey to turn in 33. Liu said she leaned on the wind rather than fought it, a mindset that paid off on the par-3 15th, where she rode a gust-assisted shot into the cup for her sixth birdie.

“Actually, I prefer hot,” Liu said with a laugh. “I just very focus my process today. Because it’s very windy, a lot of things out of my control so I just do what I can control.”

It wasn’t a one-off strong round for Liu either. She closed the Chevron Championship on Sunday with a final-round 67, finishing tied for fourth for her lone top-10 of the season so far.

By early afternoon, the clouds broke and the sun briefly appeared, but the wind held steady throughout the day. Cassie Porter and Jessica Porvasnik moved within one shot of the lead after matching afternoon rounds of 67.

Porvasnik made an immediate impact with a new set of irons in the bag this week — changes she initially resisted before her husband encouraged the switch ahead of next week’s major. While she admits it takes time to adjust to new equipment, her five-under start has her encouraged.

“I think they just hopefully fit well,” Porvasnik said. “That’s what a change should be — it should be something where you go out and play the shot and you’re like, ‘ooh, this is it.’”

Porter also climbed into contention with a late birdie at the par-5 18th, rolling in a long two-putt effort to reach five-under. The second-year LPGA Tour member, making her Meijer LPGA Classic debut in 2025 after opening with a 68 last year, said her experience is steadily building.

“I think you definitely learn out here there are places you just can’t miss it,” Porter said. “It’s about being aware of that when you’re playing the course. It’s also a place where you can be a little more aggressive in spots, so taking advantage of opportunities is pretty important.”

A crowded leaderboard emerged behind the leaders, with Celine Borge, Benedetta Moresco, Daniela Darquea, and Jing Yan all posting rounds of 68 in the morning wave. They were later joined by rookies Nastasia Nadaud, Minji Kang, Jennifer Kupcho, and Youmin Hwang, who matched the early pace in the afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Julia López Ramírez made headlines with a hole-in-one at the par-3 13th, draining a 7-iron from 170 yards en route to a one-under 71.

“It was blowing pretty hard down there. It was a left-to-right wind and we got a number that was basically my full 7-iron,” López Ramírez said. “I pitched it a couple meters short, perfect fade, one bounce and it went in. I just threw the club up — no way.”

Defending champion Carlota Ciganda opened her title defense with an even-par 72, highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 18th.