America's Lexi Thompson shares the lead at the Evian Championship after a five-under-par opening round ©Getty Images

South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee and 20-year-old American Lexi Thompson share the lead at the end of the opening day of the Evian Championships in Évian-les-Bains, France.

Thompson, the world number seven, began the tournament in steady style as she was able to par the opening 11 holes of her round but several stunning shots then catapulted her up the leaderboard.

Having secured her first birdie of the round on the 12th, the American then eagled the par five 13th and picked up a further two birdies to continue her streak to claim the clubhouse lead on five-under-par.

“It feels great to hit good golf shots off the tee or into the hole and to make some good putts,” she said afterwards.

“It was quite an exciting morning.”

It looked likely Thompson would be the sole leader at the close of the day but Lee produced four birdies on back nine holes to draw level.

However,  the South Korean will be ruing a bogey on the penultimate hole which forced her to settle for joint-leadership of the event, after eventually carding a five-under-par round of 66.

America’s Gerina Piller, South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum lead the chasing pack on four-under-par after some impressive shots throughout the day, however world number one Inbee Park proved to be inconsistent during her round.

South Korea's Inbee Park is six shots off the lead after suffering a difficult day
South Korea's Inbee Park is six shots off the lead after suffering a difficult day ©Getty Images

The South Korean, who has won the women’s PGA Championship and British Open titles this year, recorded three birdies and four bogeys on her way to a one-over-par round of 72.

She lies one shot ahead of another favourite for victory in America’s Stacey Lewis, with their challenge for the title already looking like an uphill battle as they are six and seven shots off the lead after the first of four days of the event.

America’s Michelle Wie was another of the big names to endure a difficult day as the 25-year-old carded a four-over-par 75.



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