Kemper's fearsome Gauntlet doesn't prove as punishing on Day 1 of KPMG Championship
The flag on the 17th green, which lay limp on its stick most of the day, suddenly flapped. The wind had picked up, greeting golfers in the face as they teed up their golf ball.
Kemper Lakes Golf Club's newly named Gauntlet was about to punish, seemingly.
Klara Spilkova never got rattled, however. She nearly aced the hole, which would have won her a 2019 Kia Sorento, as she rolled her iron shot from 175 yards out inches from the cup.
The 23-year-old from the Czech Republic tapped in for birdie, and while she finished 5-over par for the day, the Gauntlet didn't necessarily prove punishing to the world's best woman golfers on Day 1 of the KPMG PGA Championship in Kildeer on Thursday.
Early in the evening, with opening-round play nearly complete, Brittany Marchand earned the new SUV that barely eluded Spilkova. The 26-year-old Canadian carded a hole-in-one on the 17th with a 5 iron.
The Gauntlet - holes 16-18, all of which require shots over water and bull's-eye accuracy - yielded a collective 74 birdies (plus Marchand's eagle), 76 bogeys, 19 doubles and 3 other scores worse than double. Only No. 1 (32) yielded more birdies on the par 4s than the 373-yard 18th (29).
"It's ready for the taking! No wind," Kemper Lakes tweeted in the morning.
Tuesday's rain softened the course, allowing the greens to absorb approach shots. The wind increased slightly in the afternoon, but had little effect on shots.
"The course was pretty wet today," leader Sung Hyun Park said after firing a course-record 6-under 66. She closed by parring Nos. 16, 17 and 18. "But I felt pretty comfortable today, and I know that it's going to be hotter and difficult as the (tournament) goes."
Michelle Wie, whose 1-under 71 (tie for 32nd) puts her 5 shots behind Park, birdied the par-4 18th, after birdieing Nos. 16 and 17.
"(No. 18) is a great finishing hole," Wie said. "I think 16, 17 and 18 are tough. They're pretty cool finishing holes."
The par-4 16th played to an average of 4.17 strokes (fourth-hardest hole), the 17th to 3.08 (ninth) and the 18th to 4.03 (13th).
"I love (the course)," Jaye Marie Green said after shooting a 5-under 67, which places her in a four-way tie for second with Brittany Altomare, Jessica Korda and Brooke Henderson.
"I like it too since it rained. I think it's going to be a different golf course this weekend just because it's so soft right now. I had so many 6-irons or more today, and that usually doesn't happen because I hit it a little longer than the average."
Moriya Jutanugarn (4 under), Jackie Stoelting (2 under) and Georgia Hall (even) each birdied two of the last three holes, parring No. 17. Alena Sharp (3 under), Stacy Lewis (2 under) and Megan Khang (even) all sank birdie putts on Nos. 16 and 17. Hyo Joo Kim (2 under), Lauren Kim (1 under) and Robynn Ree (2 under) each carded birdies on the 17th and 18th.
"(The course) is beautiful," said Brittany Lincicome, who's at 1 under with Wie, Lauren Kim and 16 others.
"I wish we wouldn't have gotten all that rain because it would have been cool to see it play more firm and fast, but being a long hitter, the longer the better for me.
"I love it. The course is in great shape."