THE WOODLANDS, Texas — After round one of The Chevron Championship, there are a handful of major champions already lurking at the year’s first major tournament.

Republic of Korea native Hyo Joo Kim finished alone in third on Thursday before first-round play was suspended, kicking off her week in The Woodlands, Texas with a 5-under 67 to sit two shots behind first-round co-leaders Yan Liu and Haeran Ryu, who both opened with 65s. Kim won the 2014 Amundi Evian Championship as a non-member and will be working to collect her second victory of the 2025 season over the next 54 holes at The Club at Carlton Woods, having already picked up a win this year at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass after beating two-time major winner Lilia Vu in a playoff.

According to KPMG Performance Insights data following round one, the 29-year-old has the lowest score to par of any player in major championships since 2021 at 53-under and also has the lowest scoring average at 70.75 strokes, gaining just over two strokes total over her competitors in that span. Her Thursday 67 was Kim’s 11th round of 67 or better in a major championship since 2021, and she is tied for first in most scores of 67 or better in majors.

Thursday saw the seven-time LPGA Tour winner card two bogeys and seven birdies at The Club at Carlton Woods, five of which came in a seven-hole stretch. But a bogey on the par-5 18th hole left a bad taste in Kim’s mouth, and she plans to make some adjustments so as to avoid those kinds of mental mistakes going into the next three days of The Chevron Championship.

“I played well overall,” said Kim after finishing her first round, “but because I kind of lost it on the 18th in the end, I want to get my mindset together so I can play better tomorrow.”

One shot behind Kim is Ariya Jutanugarn, who posted a 4-under 68 in round one. Her scorecard was a bit more of a rollercoaster ride, as the 2016 AIG Women’s Open champion and 2018 U.S. Women’s Open winner recorded a double bogey, four birdies and an eagle in the first round to finish with a 68 and sit three shots back of the leaders.

The Thailand native made seven consecutive pars on the front nine at The Club at Carlton Woods before breaking through with an eagle on the par-5 8th hole to move to 2-under. She parred nine and then made a double bogey on the par-4 10th hole to slip back to even-par on the day.

But Jutanugarn didn’t let that misstep faze her and recovered by ripping off three straight birdies on 12, 13 and 14 to move to 3-under. She then made one last birdie on the par-4 16th hole and parred in to post a 68 and put herself in the mix early at the first major of the 2025 LPGA Tour season.

In Gee Chun joined Jutanugarn at 4-under after finishing up her rain-delayed first round on Friday morning. The Republic of Korea native is a three-time major winner, collecting her most recent major title and LPGA Tour victory at the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club.

Chun’s 4-under effort in round one saw her make eight pars, three bogeys and seven birdies, two of which came back-to-back on holes 13 and 14 in her opening nine. This week marks the 30-year-old’s 11th start in The Chevron Championship, and in her 10 previous appearances in this tournament, Chun has earned four top-20 results, the best of which is a tie for second that she carded in 2016 when the event was still held at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

If Chun were to pull out a victory this week in The Woodlands, Texas, she would become the eighth player and the second Korean to complete the Career Grand Slam, having won four different major championships that were deemed as such during her time as an LPGA Tour member. She would then only need a victory at the AIG Women’s Open to complete what the LPGA considers the Super Career Grand Slam, which is when an athlete wins all five major championships throughout their career.

Englishwoman Georgia Hall began her week at The Chevron Championship in a strong fashion, posting a 3-under 69 on Thursday to share 10th with a slew of other athletes before the first round was suspended due to inclement weather. The 2018 AIG Women’s Open winner made three bogeys and six birdies in round one, two sets of which she carded back-to-back on holes three, four, 10 and 11.

While she was pleased to kick off a major championship with a round in the red, Hall did admit that The Club at Carlton Woods was definitely playing a bit tougher than she expected it to in the afternoon wave. But she clearly handled the challenge well and will be looking to build on her strong start over the next three days in the Lone Star State as she works to contend for her first LPGA Tour title since the 2020 Portland Classic.

“I think (the conditions were) a bit tougher than I thought it would be,” Hall said. “Wind got up, especially on my back nine. It was a two-club wind at some parts. I didn't really think it would be too windy this week, so I was a little bit surprised. The greens are quite soft and receptive, so I think this made the approach shots a little bit easier because of it.

“Happy to get my afternoon round kind of out of the way and see what the weather is like tomorrow.”

Having so many major champions hanging around the top of the leaderboard is a testament to just how difficult it is to get the upper hand on a venue like The Club at Carlton Woods. And while there is still plenty of golf left to play this week at The Chevron Championship, look for a past major winner to be contending come Sunday afternoon in The Woodlands, Texas, as they rely on their experiences in some of golf’s biggest tournaments to carry them through this latest major test.

Past Major Champions Lurking After Round One of The Chevron Championship

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