Taiwanese Chang Ching-Ling (張靖翎) and Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒) carded matching 2-under 70s to share the first-round lead at the Nan Yi Professional Golf Ladies Open.

In solo third place was Chen Meng-Chu (陳孟竺), who registered a 1-under 71. Amateur Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍) sit another shot off the pace at even-par 72, tying Doris Chen (陳彥寧) and Tai Chia-Wen (戴嘉汶).

A sudden downpour early on on Wednesday forced the play to stop at 8:22, when some groups were yet to even hit their first shots. Fortunately, the rain went away at 10 and the action resumed at 10:25. The first round was able to finish.

Chang Ching-Ling looked to be scrambling through as she only hit 10 greens in regulation, but she put on a masterclass in her wedge saves. She only made one bogey on the 12th hole throughout, using 25 putts in total. Her three birdies came on the later part of the day on the 9th, 13th and 15th.

“My driver was a bit shaky, but I could save a lot of pars thanks to my short game. Many quick chip-and-putt combinations pulled me through some tough situations,” said Chang, who earned the Korea LPGA’s Dream Tour membership in the 2020 season, after finishing 4th in a qualification event two weeks ago in Thailand. And she’s still in the running for a KLPGA main tour card; next challenge would be a 2nd-stage qualifying tournament in November.

Fresh off a T4 finish this past week at the TLPGA & Royal Open, Lin Tzu-Chi also scored three birdies on day one at the rainy Nan Yi Golf Club.

Lin was off to a flying start with a birdie on the first hole – despite being interrupted by the rain when she was about to hit the 12-foot birdie putt – and three birdies on the front nine. “I missed to many fairways, but I had pretty good feel on the approaches. I think I only made 6 fairways but managed to bring 13 greens in regulation,” said Lin, who rolled just 12 putts on the outward nine but ended up using 29 putts. “I should’ve taken some more chances on the back nine. I let at least three birdie opportunities go, which were around 5 to 9 feet.” Highlight of Lin’s first-round was a 24-foot birdie on the 5th.

“The soggy conditions made it difficult to get some more bounces and extra distance, but on the other hand, it allowed me to control the distance better and I could hit more freely,” said Chen Meng-Chu. “I saved like seven pars with some nice chipping but when I had a birdie chance, my putter just wouldn’t cooperate.” Chen made 17 pars today, picking up her only birdie on the 14th from six feet.

Currently the lowest amateur player, Liu Peng-Shan started with three bogeys on the back nine (she began her round on the tenth tee), but righted the ship after the turn as she made up for the loss with three birdies on the front nine, needing only 10 putts on the way. Liu’s birdie on the par-5 1st was a direct chip-in. She used a total of 25 attempts on the greens.

Previously named the Tainan Professional Golf Ladies Open, the 2019 Nan Yi Professional Golf Ladies Open features 62 of Asia’s best female pro golf athletes from six countries, joined by 13 elite local amateurs to make up the 75-player field. The winner on Friday will pocket NT$630,000 in a total purse of NT$3.5 million.

This is the first and only TLPGA tournament the Nan Yi Golf Club has ever hosted. Returning as the main sponsors this week are Tong Yang Group, Ta Yih Group, and TYC Brother Industrial.

Second-round play will begin at 7:00 in the morning, the late wave is scheduled to go at 8:48. There will be a cut to the top-50 and ties at the end of Thursday.

The Nan Yi Golf Club can be spotted with 58 bunkers and 11 ponds, offering a great challenge for players as they navigate through the 6,225-yard long competition layout.

The fairways on Nan Yi are mostly south-north oriented in order to avoid direct sunlight as golfers take their swings, and to redirect wind to make the course delightfully cool and pleasant in the summer. The 18-hole international standard track features fairways carpeted with silt grass and doff-grassed greens. The whole course is kept freshly green all year round.