Wednesday’s first-round of the Kaohsiung Golf Heritage Tour, a NT$600,000 pro-junior event, saw pro freshman Jenny Chen (陳敏薰) and Lee Hsin (李欣) tied atop the leaderboard after finishing with matching 74s. Wu Hsiao-Ling (吳曉玲) sit just one shot behind the leading duo. 16-year-old Hung Yu-Lin, who also carded a low-round 74, led the pack in Group Amateurs of Women’s 16-25.

Wu Yi-Ching (伍以晴), with a second swing on the 18th sending the ball closest to the pin at just 2.48 meters away, took home a special award worth NT$20,000. She’s now in a three-way tie for fourth with Huang Ching (黃靖) and Lin Jie-En (林婕恩).

Chen Yu-Hsin (陳育心) recorded her second career ace on the 165-yard hole no.9 using her 6-wood. However, even with the eagle, she concluded her first round six shots back of lead in a tie for 23rd on 8-over par. This marks the fifth hole-in-one already in the last two TLPGA Tour events. Earlier this month at the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open, four aces were recorded on the historic hole 16.

Jenny Chen, only 17, shot a 2-over 74 comprised of two birdies and four bogeys. “I was pretty solid all around, missed only a couple of fairways, making 11 greens, and 27 putts,” said Chen, who turned pro in August. She needed just three putts in her opening three holes, but turned them into just one birdie. Chen added another birdie to her bag on the 10th with a 12-foot success, however, she failed to break par with overall four blemishes, three of them on the back nine.

Based at the Tong Hwa Golf Club, Chen will be playing as a (co-)leader ahead of the final round for the first time in her tender career.

Lee Hsin decorated her scorecard with also two birdies, offset by four bogeys. She found her groove on the green quickly as she made a 27 feet long birdie putt on her second hole (the 10th hole) of the day, and went on to reach 2-under with a chip-in on the 15th, but an attack trapped by the sand hazard on the 17th fairway cost her to drop a shot before the turn. She couldn’t quite find back the early form, ending the day with three more bogeys.

“I felt great with my iron game, but missed some easy ones after the turn, and my confidence was a little shaken,” said Lee, who won the YTS & SUNCITY Heritage Tour this August. She needed 28 putts today.

Home course player Wu Hsiao-Ling notched a pair of birdies on the 4th and 14th. “I had a very strong driver today. But the short game couldn’t cooperate,” said Wu. Her disappointing wedge play around the green saw a number of scoring chances slipped. She made five bogeys in the end, leaving her one stroke off the pace, but she’ll be starting in the last group on Thursday’s final-round alongside Chen and Lee at 7:35 a.m.

Teenager Hung Yu-Lin used one birdie, one bogey, and one double bogey to wrap up day one on 2-over par, which is equally best with leaders on the pro leaderboard.

The Kaohsiung Golf Heritage Tour is the final pit stop on the 2018 TLPGA Tour with 38 pros vying for a NT$71,000 top prize. Main sponsorships this week include Mr. Frank Chen Cultural and Educational Foundation and Kaohsiung Golf Club. Besides Group Professionals, Group Amateurs of Women’s 16-25 (6-player), Boys’/Girls’ 12-16 (3-player each), Juniors’ 8-12 (7-player) were also in action.

The TLPGA Heritage Series applies the pro-junior system, in which the TLPGA pros are grouped with amateurs and junior golfers, with an aim to provide a platform for closer interaction between the experienced and the young prospects.