Lai Yi-Ting (賴怡廷) took the clubhouse lead by one shot on Day 1 at the NT$600,000 YTS & SUNCITY Heritage Tour 2019. She scored four birdies in windy conditions, offset by three bogeys, to register a 71. Tied for second were Huang Pei-Wen (黃佩雯), Chang Ching-Ling (張靖翎), Kuo Ai-Chen (郭艾榛), and Babe Liu (劉嬿).

Chen Meng-Chu (陳孟竺), Liang Yi-Ling (梁宜羚), and Chen I-Wen (陳依汶) sit in a tie for sixth after turning in matching 73s.

A “Heritage Tour” event on the TLPGA Tour, the YTS & SUNCITY Heritage Tour at the Suncity Golf Club follows a pro-junior, 36-hole format, 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.

Besides Group Professionals with 94 players in, Group Amateurs of Women’s 16-25 (7-player), Boys’/Girls’ 12-16 (6 & 4-player), Juniors’ 8-12, and 5 pro-test participants were also in action today. The pro-test cutline was set at 16-over 88.

Lai Yi-Ting, who started on the 10th, made an early birdie on the 12th with a successful 10-foot putt. Despite dropping a shot on the 13th with a three-putt, she went 1-under again soon on Hole 16, where she sliced it on for an easy 4-footer for birdie and nailed it.

Onto the inward nine, Lai earned two more birdies on the 3rd and 8th; however, on both occasions, she erased the effort by failing the par putt on the following hole. “There’s been some up and down but overall I think I played good, consistent golf. I’ve done some changes and seen a lot of improvement in my approach shots, which was key for me today,” Lai said, who trained in Taipei Golf Club.

“The course is in really good shape. It’s been hot and the course is quite dry and firm. You can get some extra distance with big bounces,” said Lai. She needed 29 putts.

Huang Pei-Wen scored the only eagle in the first round on the par-4 11th, using her gap wedge from 116 yards away. She actually found herself in the position to earn an eagle also on the par-5 6th, putting from 20 feet, but she didn’t succeed.

“I was playing well. A little unlucky in the bad spots on the fringe, and a few second shots that went short against the strong wind, especially on the back nine. But other than those, I felt really comfortable out there,” said Huang, who missed just 4 fairways, hitting 11 greens, and used 29 attempts on the greens. “I’ve picked up a few lessons about my club choices under the wind, and hopefully, I’ll give myself more birdie chances tomorrow.”

Fresh off a victory at the Kaohsiung Ladies Open for Charity last week, Babe Liu was red hot with her putter, needing just 24 putts which rewarded her four birdies. But some uncharacteristic mistakes, resulting in two bogeys and one double bogey, just cancelled it out. Tying with Liu and Huang at even-par were Chang Ching-Ling and Kuo Ai-Chen, who both needed just 26 putts. Chang finished tied for second place last week in Kaohsiung.

Defending champion Lee Hsin (李欣) carded a 2-over 74, sitting equal ninth with Chen Cih-Hui (陳慈惠), Lynn Chiu (邱齡緹), Zhong Rui-Xin (鍾芮芯), and Chen Hsuan (陳萱).

For the third year consecutively, the 36-hole TLPGA Tour event is title-sponsored by the YTS Technology and the Suncity Golf Club. The YTS Group has been a top-3 manufacturer in the airtight window market in Taiwan for over 40 years.

Final-round play will begin at 6:30 on Friday morning from the first and tenth tees. The final group will be set off to go at 8:20.