LINGSHUI: Thidapa Suwannapura shot a four-under-par 68 in windy conditions to set the first-round pace at the Blue Bay LPGA Wednesday, as Thai players occupied five of the top nine spots on the leaderboard after the first round on Hainan Island.
Fellow Thai Ariya Jutanugarn, the world No.1, was a shot back in equal second with Canadian Alena Sharp after a 69 at the US$2.1 million tournament, co-sanctioned by the China and US LPGA Tours.
Ariya's sister Moriya, Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras and Benyapa Niphatsophon, who shot matching 70s, were all tied for fourth alongside three other players rounding out the top group after Wednesday's first round.
Du Mohan was the top Chinese as the 16-year-old rookie pro opened with a 71 at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club to sit equal 10th in a group of five players.
Thidapa, who secured her maiden LPGA title in July at the Marathon Classic, started her round from the Jian Lake Blue Bay back nine and came out strong with three birdies in her first five holes. After dropping her only shot with bogey five at the first hole (her 10th hole), she picked up further strokes at the sixth and eighth holes.
"The key for me today was my irons. My iron shot was pretty good today. I could attack the pins on a lot of holes and [get] a lot of birdie opportunities," said the 25-year-old from Bangkok who played on the China LPGA Tour in the early days of her pro career.
"With this golf course it's really challenging and it's windy and you have to think where to go, where to miss, so it's kind of fun to play this golf course. We just enjoyed playing today."
Ariya, a winner of three tournaments this year including the US Women's Open, got herself in contention when she holed a tricky putt for birdie at the par-five last. Her round featured five birdies and two bogeys.
"Yeah, I'm pretty happy about my game today. It's really windy and so tough out there," said the 22-year-old who has a driving iron in her bag this week for low shots into the wind. "I feel like every shot, tee shot, second shot to the green, you have to play with the wind. Sometimes I just forgot."
A week after winning the China National Team Championship's individual and team titles, Du continued her strong form to post a round that featured three birdies over the opening nine holes and two bogeys.
"On the whole I am happy with this score. The wind was strong as always. My plan was safe and steady. It worked out. My long game was good and gave me many birdie chances," said the Beijing native, who turned pro in October after helping China to the team bronze at this summer's Asian Games in Indonesia.
"The wind picked up on the back nine and I had no birdie but I think it's OK. The wind is expected to be strong tomorrow. I need to follow my conservative plan."
Jennifer Song (70) posted the third hole-in-one in tournament history when the 28-year-old aced the 152-yard seventh hole with an eight-iron.
Notable scores included China's Liu Yu, Liu Wenbo and Lin Xiyu who all shot even par 72, one stroke better than Park Sung-hyun (73), the world No.2 from South Korea.
China No.1 Feng Shanshan, the defending champion, opened with a three-over 75 to sit equal 48th in the 81-player field.
Here are the opening round highlights from the tournament as Thidapa took the lead and fellow Thais followed closely. (All video YouTube/LPGA)
World No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn and big sister Moriya closely follow Thidapa with excellent rounds of their own. The shot of Moriya's putt that opens the video is worth a watch on its own.
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