11 May, 2018: Connie Chen of South Africa, EFG sponsor invite Malaysian amateur Winnie Ng Yu-xuan, and Chinese Taipei duo Chen Szu-han and Hsieh Yu-ling are atop the leaderboard in a four-way tie with each carding an impressive five-under 67. Defending champion Thailand’s Supamas Sangchan, who was in the same group as Chan, also finished at three-under.
Sharmila Nicollet, Vani Kapoor, Neha Tripathi, Suchitra Ramesh, Amandeep Drall, Smriti Mehra and Ayesha Kapur are the Indian golfers in the field this week.
Sharmila was the pick of the lot in the first round, scoring a 73. She offset a double bogey and three bogeys with four birdies in her first round card of one over par.
Neha Tripathi conceded six bogeys against two birdies in a score of 76. Vani made three bogeys and a double at the par-5 ninth hole to end the day alongside Neha.
Suchitra made 77 while Amandeep took a 78. Smriti also made a 78 and Ayesha was at the bottom of the charts with an 85 in the first round.
LPGA rookie Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching put together a strong finish to put herself within two shots of the leaders on day one of the 2018 EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open.
Taking place on the Old Course of the Hong Kong Golf Club, the 2016 champion started slightly nervously with bogies on the third and seventh but picked herself up with a solid back nine with four birdies to finish on a solid three-under 69.
Chan, who is in superb form following a 13-stroke win at a US Women’s Championships qualifier in Hawaii last week, said:
16-year-old Ng, one of the top Malaysian juniors, took full advantage of her first sponsor invite to produce the round of her life that included nine birdies. The Kuala Lumpur native commented:
Hsieh resumed where she left off last year when she was a runner-up at the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open with a bogey-free round under glorious sunshine to open up her 2018 campaign. The 26-year-old said:
Isabella Leung and Michelle Cheung are the next best placed local competitors, with each competing their rounds at one-over 73, in a tie for 37th.
With a total prize fund of US$150,000, the fourth edition of the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open will host a top qualify field of 120 players from 16 nations and territories across the globe.
With inputs from the Ladies Asian Golf Tour
