Shin shines in first round; Aditi shot 71

Jiyai Shin of South Korea shot eight birdies to card seven-under-par 65 to claim a two-shot lead in the ActewAGL Canberra Classic. Aditi shot 71.

893

Feb 09, 2018: Former world number one Jiyai Shin of South Korea produced eight birdies in an opening round of seven-under-par 65 to claim a two-shot lead in the ActewAGL Canberra Classic at Royal Canberra Golf Club in the Australian capital on Friday. India’s Aditi Ashok shot one-under-par 71.

Although Shin started the round in slight drizzle, she shone from her first hole, sinking a birdie putt from eight feet on the par-4 10th just after a trio of kangaroos had bounded across the fairway.

Then, after making a masterful up and down from the back of the 11th green, she birdied the par-4 12th, followed by two-putt birdies on the long 15th and 18th for a back-nine total of four-under-par.

As the temperatures warmed up to 33C, so did Shin’s golf. She birdied the first, second, fifth and sixth holes to reach eight-under-par, before dropping a shot at the par-3 seventh, after she uncharacteristically thinned her chip shot.

“I played in the morning and the conditions were beautiful. I really enjoyed it. Tomorrow I’m playing in the afternoon, so I’m looking forward to more birdies,” said the world number 26, who is looking for her 50th professional title in Canberra. “We had a lot of people watching in the galleries for the whole 18 holes. I really enjoyed that.”

Shin won the 2013 Women’s Australian Open at Royal Canberra and she added: “I have great memories at this golf course and I think that Canberra has been very nice to me. I want to stay here! It changed a lot since I last came here five years ago. It’s quite a narrow course and a few holes are quite tight, but it makes you more focused and I like the challenge.”t last week’s Oates Vic Open champion Minjee Lee of Australia (above) in touch and she lies in joint second alongside Leticia Ras-Anderica of Germany and Norwegian rookie Karoline Lund on five-under-par 67.

Aditi Ashok shot four birdies against three bogies to card one-under-par 71. She is lying at T26 at the end of the first round.

 

Ladies European Tour Release

Join the Conversation