Tzu-Chi Lin of Chinese Taipei carded a six-under 66 on Friday, and is on top of a crowded leaderboard after the opening round of the Sanya Ladies Open in China.
The 24-year-old sixth year pro from Taichung, got off to a good start with a birdie on the 539-yards par-5 opening hole. She would go in a roller coaster for the remainder of the front nine as she would bogey the par-3 third, birdie the fourth, bogey the sixth and birdie the seventh to make the turn at one-under.
Lin would catch fire on the back nine, racking up six-birdies and one bogey to emerge from the pack and take the first round lead, two clear of a seven-way tie for second place. She is looking for her first win on the Ladies European Tour after recording two wins on the China LPGA last year and one on the US Symetra Tour 2011.
Lin Xi Yu and amateur Wang Ziyi were the home country’s top scorers on the opening round, and are part of the seven-way tie for second place at four-under. Xi Yu caded a bogey free round, while Ziyi recorded seven birdies and three bogeys.
Xi Yu, winner of the CLPGA’s Sanya Hills Classic at nearby Dragon Valley Club, was the youngest winner on the China LPGA last year after winning at the age of 16 years and six months. But that feat was bested one month by Ziyi this year when she won the Xiamen Challenge in August.
Both players are teenagers to be watched in the tournament, with Guangzhou native Xi Yu, on her second year as a professional is one of the rising young stars. Meanwhile, Ziyi from Beijing, has verbally committed to Stanford University for 2016 and is the 72nd ranked amateur player on the world.
China’s LPGA No. 2 player, Babe Liu of Chinese Taipei, also recorded a 68 on Friday. The 21-year-old has won twice on the CLPGA tour this year. She won the Golden Mountain Challenge and the Zhuhai Classic, and her round today consisted of five birdies on the first six holes, but could only muster a bogey on the 17th hole the rest of the way.
LET veterans Gwladys Nocera (France) and Rebecca Artis (Australia) recorded bogey-free rounds and along with Kusuma Meechai (Thailand) and Malene Jorgensen (Norway) complete the seven-player group sharing second place after also carding a 68 at the Yalong Bay Golf Club in Sanya on the tropical island of Hainan.
Australian Nikki Campbell and England’s Liz Young round up the Top 10 on the leaderboard, as they sit one shot behind at three-under 69 and tied for ninth place.
China’s Zhang Yu Yang, who lost last year on the first playoff hole to Lee Anne Pace on this event, is currently tied with 12 other players sharing 12th place at two-under. That group includes Charley Hull, England’s promising young golfer who’s had something of a lackluster season so far.
Other notables on the tournament: Valentine Derrey, Camilla Lennarth (T34, even), Florentyna Parker, Kylie Walker, Connie Chen (T55, one-over), Trish Johnson (T86, three-over).
This is the fifth edition of the tournament ,and is featuring a total of 120 top golfers from 27 countries and regions, including 55 players from the Ladies European Tour (LET), 33 from the China LPGA Tour, 22 from the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) and ten invitations.