Managing allergies on the golf course can be a tough task, especially at the professional level.
Ruixin Liu made it look easy Thursday at the Kroger Queen City Championship. The 24-year-old from China rode a hot putter all the way to the top of the leaderboard at 7 under, although it admittedly felt terrible during the first round at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“I pretty much made everything but hole No. 12,” said Liu, who was still dealing with allergies that hit so hard last week that she was forced to withdraw from the Portland Classic. “That’s the only bad hole I played today because my second shot was only 18 feet to the hole for eagle and I three-putted it.”
The Chinese native, who now lives in Orlando, went bogey-free with seven birdies, including five on the front nine, and leads the tournament by one shot over Linnea Strom (66).
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“I’m still a little uncertain today,” Liu said of his health. “I don’t know how I did it so well, but it happened and I’m very happy to take it.”
Pictures: Kroger Queen City Championship
Liu, the 2019 Epson Tour Player of the Year, remains humble and in the moment as she looks for her first win on the LPGA. Across 14 starts this season, Liu has missed five cuts, retired twice and has a best finish of T-9 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational back in July.
“Well, I don’t want to give myself too much hope because physically I’m not feeling well, so I just want to take a good break, try to sleep well and try to do the same thing tomorrow.” she added.