SHIGA, Japan — Hana Wakimoto of Japan shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 to lead by two shots after the first round of the LPGA Japan Classic.
South Korea’s former world No 1 and two-time major winner Ko Jin-young was second after a flawless 65 containing seven birdies.
But the 27-year-old Japan LPGA player Wakimoto showed no nerves in a field packed with elite players and major winners, firing nine birdies and no bogeys.
Behind lurked gaggle of big-name players with Sweden’s Linn Grant, Japan’s Ayaka Furue, plus South Korean pair Kim Hyo-joo and Jenny Shin locked in a share of third on six-under par at Seta Golf Course in Otsu-shi.
Furue, who won the Evian Championship in July for her first major, had just one dropped shot in her 66.
Australia’s Minjee Lee, another double major champion, was on five-under alongside Thailand Ariya Jutanugarn and Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran, who finished third at last week’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
Reigning US Open champion Yuka Saso was one of several players on three-under par, along with Thai pair Chanettee Wannasaen and Moriya Jutanugarn.
Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh, the 2022 champion, was nine shots adrift on even par.
Wakimoto’s score tied the course record and was the best round of her career. “Recently my ball striking has been very good, so I have been confident and I could attack the pins,” Wakimoto said according to AP.
Australian Minjee Lee was tied for seventh after a 67 and Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 70. Only eight players in the 78-player, no-cut field, were over par after the first round.
An Australian rising golf star who made his US PGA Tour debut last month vowed to play on despite losing sight in one eye after a freak on-course accident.
Jeffrey Guan, 20, was hit in the face by a ball at a tournament south of Sydney in late September, suffering a serious fracture to his left cheekbone and eye socket.
The PGA of Australia revealed he had “permanently lost vision in his left eye”.
In his first statement since the accident, Guan – a former Australian junior amateur champion like Adam Scott, Jason Day and Cameron Smith – said he was “utterly distraught”.
“During my nights in hospital I almost drowned in thoughts about the injury and my future in the sport,” he said according to AFP.
“Not only was I utterly distraught by the news I had received, but the whole situation made me very depressed and somewhat angry.
“These four weeks have been the toughest of my life,” he added. “But I am stronger mentally and will be ready to conquer any obstacle in the future.
“I will be back.”
Before the accident, Guan had signed with the same management company that boasts major winners Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson.
He received a sponsor invite to the PGA Tour Procore Championship in California, where he hit a 69 and 75 to narrowly miss the cut.
PGA Tour Champions is adding an event, putting a few new wrinkles in play and increasing the prize money for its 2025 season, according to the schedule announced recently.
In all, players will compete in 20 states and three countries for $69 million in prize money, the highest ever in the tour’s history.
New on the tour is the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational to be played 4-6 April at The Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, Florida.
The event will feature Champions players competing with 26 of football’s greatest names on the first two days, with Sunday being reserved for the pro golfers.
The American Family Insurance Championship is transforming to a team golf format and will be contested 6-8 June at the redesigned TPC Wisconsin.
The tour year begins 17-19 January at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii, with the players heading to Morocco for the Trophy Hassan II at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat over the first weekend in February.
