At a blustery Royal Troon, with gusts that rose to 40mph on occasions, Olson emerged late in the day to reach four under par with an excellent 67 at the first women’s major of the year.
Olson carded five birdies and just one dropped shot in a fine display of links golf. The 28-year-old, who has posted two top-10 finishes in majors, holds a three-stroke lead over fellow American Marina Alex and Germany’s Sophia Popov.
Fifty-year-old Catriona Matthew rolled back the years on Thursday with a superb round of 71 at Royal Troon in the AIG Women’s Open.
Europe's Solheim Cup captain, who won this championship in 2009 at Royal Lytham & St Annes, carded four birdies and four bogeys in a level-par round that left her comfortably inside the top 10 on a day when gusting winds made low scoring difficult.
“I played well, I drove the ball well,” Matthew said. “I don't think I missed a fairway today, which gives you just the opportunity to try and hit the greens.
“Going out was obviously super long, going back out into the wind, and then coming back downwind sometimes isn't that easy, either, it was such a strong wind.”
Matthew, who would become the oldest major champion of all time if she were to win this week, was in control with her long game on Thursday, and credits shot commitment for her accuracy off the tee.
Leaderboard
-4 A Olsen (USA)
-1 S Popov (Germany), M Alex (USA)
SCOTS:
Even C Matthew
+2 M Thomson
+3 G Dryburgh
+7 K Henry
+9 C Booth
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