Golf: Brittany Lincicome beats the heat in Wisconsin

Long-hitting Brittany Lincicome birdied two of her last four holes in energy-sapping heat to surge into a three-way tie for the lead after the opening round of the US Women’s Open in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Lincicome, who claimed her only major title at the 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship, fired a three-under-par 69 at Blackwolf Run to end level with fellow Americans Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas.

“I was very in control of everything today, which is a nice feeling,” said a beaming Lincicome after recording five birdies and two bogeys. “I knew exactly where my tee shots were going. I knew exactly where my irons were going. The putts, even if I read them wrong, I got back on track, and I was making them. It was one of those days where you were like, ‘That was easy’.”

Kerr, winner of the 2007 US Women’s Open, parred her final 11 holes after recording three birdies in her first seven while LPGA rookie Salas mixed four birdies with a lone bogey as the trio took joint control of the year’s third major.

“My goal is to kind of play like this consistently for the rest of this week and we’ll see where it falls,” said world No 8 Kerr, who has not triumphed on the LPGA Tour since her second major victory at the 2010 LPGA Championship. “I’ve been pretty inconsistent this year, but I’ve found that determination, that fire in my belly today. You never know when the light switch turns on, and I feel like it has.”

Catriona Matthew, the only Scot in the field, shot a 75.