Laura Davies' 3-meter eagle on the last hole at Chicago Golf Club did not ease resentment over England's World Cup loss. However, lifting the trophy at the US Senior Women's Open would certainly do the trick. Her score of 71 (-2) puts her one stroke behind Elaine Crosby, a 60-year-old Michigan-born player who played for the LPGA from 1985 to 2000.

The "Queen" Dame Laura Davies - Photo: © TPlassais / swing-feminin.com

Trish Johnson, champion of the first Senior LPGA Championship, joins Laura Davies and Liselotte Neumann 2 under par. Helen Alfredsson (-1) completes the quintet which broke the par in the first round.

"You stand on the tee and you think, you can break away from this place," says Laura Davies, "But you know that won't happen because the tees are generous… they let you go, and then your second shot must be in the right quadrant of the green as these are large square greens. " 

Laura Davies and Neumann, who played against each other in the European Juniors in 1979, were paired alongside Inkster, who equalized. Inkster has made just one cut this year in nine starts on the LPGA Tour, citing problems on the greens.

"I putt really well today", said Inkster, "And I hit the ball like hell." "

Overall, the seven-time majors champion has been pleased with her performance, repeatedly saying it could have been worse.

Golf Channel reporter Kay Cockerill overcame a severe case of outburst of joy by signing a 74 (+1) card in her first tournament (outside of a US Women's Open qualifier) ​​since 1997.

As Cockerill tried to have breakfast, she watched a six-minute video of fellow Golf Channel colleagues - from engineers to commentators to producers - wishing her good luck.

"I constantly passed between laughter and tears", she added.

Cockerill's hands were shaking at first, but a birdie on his second hole (No.11) helped him settle in.

“The hardest thing, honestly, is the putting and the difficulty of these greens and finding the right speed,” said Cockerill. “You think you put in a good putt, and he's just two yards down. "

To stay focused, Cockerill tried to emulate Inbee Park's almost meditative look on the fairways of the LPGA.

Hollis Stacy, Amy Alcott, Suzy Whaley, Rosie Jones and Jan Stephenson all returned 77 (+4), good for a share of 29th place, while Pat Bradley and Betsy King scored 78. The top 50 and tied cross the cut.

JoAnne Carner, who started the championship by hitting the first shot at 7 a.m., scored her age, 79, after a good run on the back 9. Carner hadn't walked 18 holes since 2004.