Nordqvist in three-way tie for LPGA lead

Two-time major champion Anna Nordqvist fired seven birdies in a seven-under 64 on Friday to share the first-round lead in the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship with Jackie Stoelting and Esther Lee.

Stoelting, making her first LPGA start since the birth of her son last October also nabbed seven birdies on the Pinnacle Course in Rogers, Arkansas, where Lee collected eight birdies and a bogey to join the leading trio.

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“Today was really good,” Nordqvist said. “I feel like I’ve done a lot of good things in the last couple of weeks. It just hasn’t really paid off.

Stoelting, 34, is making her first start in 14 months. Some of that time off was due to the birth of her son, now 10 months old, and some to the coronavirus pandemic.