Taiwanese Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒) fired a bogey-free 6-under 66 in perfect scoring conditions to take the first-round lead at the Ching Yeh Paint Ladies Open. The recent Xiamen Open winner, 17-year-old amateur Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) and Thailand’s Saruttaya Ngam-Usawan share the second place at 67s.

Something rare happened at the Tao Yuan Golf & Country Club today, as Ngam-Usawan set TLPGA record of the fewest putts needed in one round. Ngam-Usawan used only 20 putts to complete her opening round on Wednesday that included two hole-out eagles. 67 was also her lowest round for the entire year.

“I did a poor job hitting the greens in regulation. I think I made just seven,” said Ngam-Usawan. “Which was why I left myself a lot of chip shots off of the green and luckily I was quite on my short game today that gave me kind of an easy putting day.”

Using her 56-degree wedge, Ngam-Usawan scored her first eagle from 62 yards on the par-5 15th, and then chipped in for birdie back to the West Course on the par-3 2nd. But both were overshadowed by her own 152-yard eagle on the par-4 1st by a 6-iron, which once put Ngam-Usawan atop the leaderboard before she made a bogey on the seventeenth hole to lose the charge.

Lin, a two-time CLPGA winner, on the other hand, was very solid and consistent throughout, scoring three birdies on the front nine and adding another three on the back.

Feeling a slight pain in her back a few weeks ago when she was on the China LPGA Tour, Lin decided to take the short schedule break before this week working to get back healthy. “I’m glad it’s feeling better. To be honest, I did not feel 100% coming into this but I think it took the pressure off me and the result turned out surprisingly good,” said Lin.

Top Taiwanese amateur Cheng used a late burst of form to finish with a 5-under 67. Cheng birdied six out of the last seven holes. The streak was highlighted by an incredible 60-footer on the 17th.

Home course player and LPGA Tour rookie-to-be Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇凌) sits another shot back with a bogey-free 68. "It could have been worse but it probably could have been a little better," said Hsu. "It’s always good to stay consistent but I think I left a few birdie chances on the greens that I should have taken.”

At the conclusion of the TLPGA season that celebrated its first year joining the WWGR (Women’s World Golf Rankings) system along with other member tours such as the LPGA Tour, LET, and JLPGA Tour, the Qualifying Test (Q-School) for the 2015 TLPGA Tour cards will take place concurrently at the Tao Yuan Golf & Country Club. The result of the 60 entries will determine the playing priority for the 2015 season.  The setting is also for TLPGA Pro-Test. The applicants need to stay lower than 12-over par on Friday after 54 holes as well as to attain a passing score of 70 on a written examination to gain membership of TLPGA.

Ching Yeh Paint joins this week as a new title sponsor as 2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the Taiwanese brand. The inaugural Ching Yeh Paint Ladies Open boasts a total prize money of NT$3 million and the winner will receive NT$600,000. A cut will be made after 36 holes and only the top 50 and ties prevail to the final Friday.