World No. 3 Ryu Hae-ran 1 shot off opening-round lead at LPGA event in Korea

World No. 3 Ryu Hae-ran put herself in early contention at the LPGA Tour event in her native South Korea on Thursday. Ryu shot a bogey-free round of five-under 67 to begin the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. She is tied for third place with three other players and sits one stroke behind the two co-leaders, Karis Davidson of Australia and Yuri Yoshida of Japan. Ryu collected three birdies on the front nine and two more on the back nine at the par-72 course that played 6,549 yards in the first round. Ryu, who won two majors earlier this season, is the highest-ranked player in the field this week. "I missed a few birdie putts midway through the round, but I don't think my putting was a problem," she said. "And when I birdied the 15th and 16th, I was so excited. I felt those two would be key holes in this tournament, and the two birdies felt like big presents." Ryu is also in contention for the Vare Trophy, awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average each season. She came into this week ranked second in...