Jennifer Kupcho storms out of the gate at Meijer LPGA Classic

BELMONT —It was a test of who wanted it more in the opening round of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give on Thursday.

Jennifer Kupcho came out ready to go to war and shot four birdies right from the start.

Kupcho was able to fly out in front after an eagle on 14, pushing her score to 9-under 63, allowing her to win the first round of this tournament.

Consistency proved to be an aspect of the game Kupcho was working on by hitting six birdies on the front nine. It seemed impossible to throw her out of the zone as she hit 10 of 13 the fairways, and 16 of her 18 greens and saved par each of the three times she hit into bunkers.

Although she was confident about her performance, she believes this is just one part of the puzzle. This means she’s one step closer to the real goal, but there is still lots of work to be done.

“It’s important to me, but again, you never know what’s gonna happen there's a lot of golf left,” Kupcho said. “So I’ll just go out there and control what I can control.”

Kupcho was in control right from the start as she was 6-under her next competitor, Gerina Mendoza, only at hole four. Taking the first round by storm, Kupcho is trying not to think about the rest of the tournament.

“I’m not really thinking about it honestly, I’m still a little angry that my last put didn’t go in, so that’s where I’m at,” Kupcho said.

Gerina Mendoza, who sits alone in second place after firing an 8-under par 64, believed consistency was the key to success after the first round.

Starting hot, Mendoza quickly tallied up her first birdie Thursday afternoon and continued to show complete consistency as she sunk seven birdies, including two that were made back-to-back.

She could also shoot one eagle on the 18th hole that allowed her to sneak past Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom, who all shot 7-under 65. Mendoza's consistency of ball striking has been key to keeping her numbers low.

“I've just been trying to work on being more consistent. That's kind of been my mantra my whole career. It's been kind of all over the map recently, but I just really tried to focus on a spot in front of my ball and really commit to that line and to my swing,” Mendoza said.

Lately, Mendoza believes her numbers haven’t been good, but she “feels like her old self,” after Thursday's round. Taking the time to settle in and find her groove, she had to remind herself to stay in the moment and not get ahead of herself after a few good shots.

“I haven't really been posting many numbers as of late, so it just really gave me a big confidence boost and I kind of felt like my old self, just kind of plunking away and not thinking about the number or one more or calculating,” Mendoza said. “I just really stayed present in every shot. I know it's very cliche to say, but it's really what you have to do. Kind of just keep your head down.”

Although her confidence was much higher after her performance, Mendoza had to remember to stay humble and keep herself grounded. She knows that there is still a lot of work to do and believes that golf is a game that can change in an instant.

“Getting off to a great start is always good, and, yeah, you know, golf course is playing a little softer, and you can attack a lot of the pins. But at the end of the day, you still have to hit the shots; you still got to make the putts, so definitely giving me a confidence boost of. I've played well here in the past, and just going to try to keep that going. Just keep my head down and focusing on that one shot at hand,” Mendoza said. “But like I said, tomorrow is a new day. You know, that's the great thing about golf, is if it was the same every day, your same feels would work day in and day out, and the same person would win every week, but that's not the case.”

Sagstrom, Nordqvist and Thompson stand tied in third place, shooting 7- under 65. Continuing to stay consistent with their shots, they also believe attitude consistency is just as essential to keep themselves calm and relaxed.

"I would say I was pretty good off the tee today. Like I said earlier, just staying in the moment, staying relaxed, not getting too high or low with my attitude,” Thompson said. “Yeah, we're not robots. We're going to hit bad shots. It's all a matter of getting over it as quickly as possible. I know it's easier said than done, but it's just a matter of staying positive, staying in the moment, and knowing you can pull off the next shot.”

The Sweden natives, Sagstrom and Nordqvist, were striking the ball accurately and aggressively today. Sagstrom shot ten onto the fairway and smacked 14 greens, and Nordqvist was able to hit 12 onto the fairway and smashed 17 agrees.

“It's just been consistent over the last couple weeks. I missed one fairway and one green today, so that's certainly helped to be in position,” Nordqvist said. “But overall, I mean, really only hit one bad shot today, so if you're never too far away, I don't feel like you can get yourself in trouble. But consistency has always been one of my keys, and I think I get in trouble when I get a little bit out of consistency.”

Although consistency seemed to be the theme of the day, there were a few big surprises that through some fans for a loop. Brooke Henderson, the only person to have won this tournament twice, finished 14th on the day. Nelly Korda, One of the world's best, scored 5-under and fishing seventh on the day.

Not where she wanted to finish, Korda tries to focus on the positive atmosphere to help get her in the right headspace.

“It's so nice to be back, just in the city of Grand Rapids, too. It's super nice. I really like it here. Everyone is so welcoming, and the crowd really gets behind this entire event, and the city gets behind this entire event,” Korda said. “I just really enjoy being here. I like the golf course, and I like the atmosphere.”

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Jennifer Kupcho's 9-under has her in first at Meijer LPGA Classic