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Three-time champion Pornanong Phatlum and Taiwanese Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒) used strong putting to overcome the blustery conditions at the Orient Golf & Country Club on Friday to take the lead at 1-under 71 after the first round of the Hitachi Ladies Classic, the first tournament counting toward the World Rankings around the globe in 2015.
This year the 2015 Hitachi Ladies Classic marks its seventh edition of the tournament, staged as the season-opening event on the TLPGA Tour for the second straight year. The purse has been increased to NT$ 10 million since 2013 from NT$4 million in its inception year. The winner will receive first-place prize of NT$2.5 million.
Phatlum, who has set her eyes on capturing the third consecutive Hitachi Ladies Classic this week, could have gone one shot lower. She received a penalty when the wind was too strong that her ball on the 2nd green moved, unluckily after she stuck out her putter and addressed the ball.
“It was unfortunate,” said Phatlum. “It was so windy it’s hard to stop the ball on the green. I did not do very well with my short game, but overall I stayed pretty steady and saved a lot of pars so I’m happy with the final score.” Phatlum needed 29 putts, had impressively six birdies but then five bogeys to card at 71.
Tied with her on top of the leaderboard is CLPGA titlist Lin Tzu-Chi, who took just 27 putts and made four birdies. “The wind was blowing so hard and it was so cold that made it difficult to control the distance,” said Lin. “It was good that most of my shots managed to land in the fairways. So I think the outcome was okay!”
A group of five players sitting at T3 at 73 includes Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆), Babe Liu (劉依貞), Shih Huei-Ju (石惠如), Huang Hsien-Wen (黃賢雯), and Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang.
Phoebe Yao, who clinched one victory last year and finished at no.30 on the year-end Money List on the Japan LPGA Tour, had her left wrist taped but still put up a decent performance with three birdies and four bogeys. “It’s an old injury. I was not hitting very solid because of it and of course the wind. I hope it will feel better tomorrow and play better,” said Yao.
Making her professional debut this week, 17-year-old Taiwanese Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) opened with a 2-over 74, being in a tie with veteran Tseng Hsiu-Feng (曾秀鳳) and Korean Suh Bo-Mi.
2014 Japan LPGA season-ending Ricoh Cup champion Teresa Lu (盧曉晴) needed 36 putts during her first-round 75. “The pin positions were quite challenging. It was hard to stop the ball on the green, which you had to really compensate with some strong putting but I didn’t read the greens as well as I wished,” said Lu, who falls in a tie just outside top-10 on the leaderboard with Wei Yun-Jye (魏筠潔), Japanese Chinzei Mayumi, Thailand’s Supamas Sangchan, Korea’s Jang, So-Young, and Lynn Chiu (邱齡緹).
2014 Order of Merit (leading money winner) on the Ladies European Tour (LET) Charley Hull played in the final group with Lu and Phatlum today, and finished with a 4-over 76 to sit in a tie for 18th with LPGA Tour Cards winner from the 2014 Symetra Tour, Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩) and Lee Min (李旻).
The tournament will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play with a cut off the top 50 on Saturday. Annual proceeds from the tournament and an equal bonus from Hitachi Ltd. and Taiwan Hitachi Co., Ltd. will be used to benefit nine local charities. Over the last six years, the tournament has raised donation exceeding NT$25 million.
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