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PORTHCAWL, Wales: England’s Lottie Woad endured a frustrating start to the AIG Women’s Open as Japan’s Eri Okayama and Rio Takeda topped the first-round leaderboard at a sunny Royal Porthcawl on Thursday.

An astonishing July, which culminated in Woad winning the Scottish Open in her first event as a professional, had made the 21-year-old favorite for the year’s final major.

But the former Florida State University player found the going tough on the south Wales coast as she ground out a level-par round of 72 thanks to a birdie at the last.

Okayama’s five-under 67 gave her the lead before she was joined by Takeda after she birdied the 18th.

Japanese players dominated the opening day with Miyu Yamashita at four-under ahead of a large group on three-under that included Chevron Championship winner Mao Saigo, Shiho Kuwaki and Chizato Iwai.

Reigning champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand and world No. 1 Nelly Korda, like Woad, failed to take advantage of relatively calm conditions.

Ko finished on one over, while American Korda was two-under par.

World No. 139 Okayama bogeyed her opening hole but birdied five of the next eight and was rock solid on the way back with another birdie at the 17th moving her ahead.

Takeda recovered from a double-bogey seven at the ninth with four birdies on the back nine, putting her joint first.

By far the largest galleries assembled just after lunchtime to watch Woad in a group alongside Ko and American Lilia Vu.

Despite it being her first major as a professional, Surrey-born Woad’s win at the Irish Open and then missing out by one stroke at the Evian Championship just before turning pro meant she arrived in Wales with sky-high expectations.

Woad was a cumulative 55-under-par for her last three tournaments and the crowd did not have to wait long for a glimpse of her quality as she rolled in a birdie at the first.

A bogey at the third and another at the fifth followed but she then had the crowd cheering as a long putt from the edge of the sixth green disappeared for another birdie.

Woad struggled to gain any momentum though and scrambled for a par-five at the ninth.

A bogey on the 11th put her one over for the round but she got back to level with a birdie three at the 14th after a majestic approach shot.

Another mistake at the par-three 15th cost her shot though before a birdie at the 18th made sure she finished the way she had started.

NAIROBI, Kenya: After severe delays in stadium renovations, east Africa is finally ready to co-host the much-awaited African Nations Championship (CHAN), kicking off on Saturday.
It is a historic moment for Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, whose “Pamoja” — meaning “together” in Swahili — bid two years ago gave birth to the first Confederation of African Football (CAF) tournament in the region since 1976, and the first to be jointly hosted by three countries.
The CHAN tournament, which runs to August 30, acts as a precursor to the continent’s main event, the Africa Cup of Nations in 2027, also co-hosted by the three countries.
CHAN features only players from domestic clubs, and cannot include anyone playing for teams abroad.
Getting the five stadiums ready has been a struggle, with CAF delaying the tournament from its planned dates in February to give them more time to prepare.
On a final inspection tour in Nairobi last week CAF general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba celebrated the three nations’ progress and co-operation.
“I think we in Africa need to learn from this model. Three countries have pooled their efforts and resources to successfully deliver,” he told reporters.

Tanzania will get the 19-team competition underway when they play Burkina Faso at the Benjamin Mkapa stadium in the economic capital Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
Favourites Morocco pulled out of the last competition in Algeria in February 2023, but have returned with one of the tournament’s strongest teams, featuring six players from the winning CAF Confederation Cup — including Olympian goalkeeper Rachid Ghanimi.
The two-time champions have been drawn in Group A, alongside hosts Kenya, as well as Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenya are making their debut under South African head coach Benni McCarthy, part of Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United coaching staff.
“Honestly, it is a great challenge,” the 47-year-old said.
“When you play football and then convert to become a coach, to get what you want to be the best, the difficult teams will always be in your path. You have to beat them anyway.”
Co-hosts Uganda have competed in six of the previous seven CHAN tournaments without ever qualifying for the knockout phase, but they hope to break the jinx, beginning with the home group matches against Algeria, Guinea, Niger and South Africa.
They have tapped former national team captain Denis Onyango to join the technical bench and help improve their goalkeeping.
Meanwhile, defending champions Senegal begin against fellow west African rivals Nigeria at Zanzibar’s Amaan stadium on August 5.