Grace Kim opened with a 6-under 66 at the Portland Classic, using nine birdies and an eagle to move one shot off the early lead at Columbia Edgewater.
Grace Kim came out firing at The Standard Portland Classic, opening with a 6-under 66 Thursday at Columbia Edgewater Country Club to put herself immediately in the championship mix.
The 25-year-old finished the morning wave tied for second, just one shot behind early leader Mariel Galdiano, after a wild round that included nine birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.
Kim didn’t exactly ease into the day.
Starting on the back nine, she birdied Nos. 10, 11 and 12 to race to 3-under after only three holes. A bogey at the 15th briefly interrupted the charge, but Kim responded with birdies at 17 and 18 to make the turn in 32.
Then she kept attacking.
A birdie at No. 1 pushed her to 5-under before another bogey at the third. Her biggest move came late, when she eagled the par-5 seventh and followed it with a birdie at the par-3 eighth.
That got Kim to 7-under before a closing bogey left her with a 66.
For a player who already knows how to handle Columbia Edgewater, the start shouldn’t be a huge surprise.
Kim finished fifth at 18-under in Portland last season and tied for ninth in 2024. She also owns two LPGA Tour victories, highlighted by her win at the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship.
Her 2026 season hasn’t produced quite the same fireworks yet, but Kim has remained steady, making 10 cuts in 13 starts with a best finish of tied for seventh at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
Portland could be where things heat up again.
Kim said the greens are rolling exceptionally well, which gave her confidence to be aggressive with the putter throughout the opening round.
That could be critical at a course where low scores are likely to keep coming.
And Kim knows exactly what kind of tournament she’s in.
This is a birdie race.
She’ll need to keep attacking without getting reckless, especially with three rounds still to play and the afternoon wave capable of reshaping the leaderboard.
But after opening with nine birdies and an eagle, Kim has already made one thing clear. She didn’t come to Portland just to hang around. She came to chase another trophy.
