Pace within striking distance in Illinois

South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace finished just one stroke off the lead in the opening round of the LPGA Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Illinois.

The Pearl Valley golfer fired an opening four-under-par 67 at Highland Meadows Golf Club to tie for second with American Nannette Hill, Australian Sarah Kemp and Hsu Wei-ling of Taiwan.

The quartet are chasing Jang Ha-na of South Korea, who caught fire on the back nine with six birdies for a 66.

Jang, ranked 22nd in the world and a six-time winner on the Korean LPGA Tour, avoided the four-way tie at four under with a final birdie at 18.

Pace and company are one stroke clear of a dozen players tied at three under, including Koreans Kim Sei-young, Jenny Shin and Mirim Lee, Americans Angela Stanford and Brittany Lang, Canada’s Alena Sharp, Caroline Masson of Germany and Dewi Claire Schreefel of the Netherlands.

PHOTO – Lee-Anne Pace; credit Justin Klusener