Parinda Phokan of Thailand shot a bogey-free 66 to set the early pace at the KENDA Tire TLPGA Open, leading second-placed Japanese duo Rieko Sakashita and Rino Kotake by three strokes.

This is the seventh playing of the NT$4 million KENDA Tire TLPGA Open.

15-year-old sensation Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), recent Nan Yi Professional Golf Ladies Open winner Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒), Malaysia′s Pan Aretha Herng, Koh Sock-Hwee from Singapore, and Thai Wad Phaewchimplee sit in equal fourth place at 2-under par 70.

“I heard that the Taifong Golf Club plays tough if there is wind. Luckily, the weather was calm today. I was solid from the tee and finishing well on the green,” said Phokan, who made her first appearance at the Changhua event. “I was nicely surprised with the level of my putting. I was able to make some great saves and birdies.” She used just 25 attempts on the greens, the longest one earned her a sixth birdie in Wednesday’s first round when she drained it from 40 feet away on the par-3 15th.

The 22-year-old from Thailand already won on two occasions this year on the TLPGA Tour at the season-opening Hitachi Ladies Classic and the SAMPO Ladies Open. The currently TLPGA Tour top-ranked player plans to compete for the membership status for the main Korea LPGA Tour in 2020; she will be playing the second-stage qualifying event next month.

Both back in the clubhouse with three shots off the pace, Rieko Sakashita and Rino Kotake handed in contrasting scorecards. Sakashita cruised to the finishing line with a smooth, bogey-free round scoring three birdies on the way. Kotake, on the other hand, had to deal with inconsistency due to the lack of preparation. Kotake carded one eagle, six birdies, three bogeys, and one double-bogeys on Wednesday.

“I just got to Taiwan on Monday from a JLPGA event. I didn’t have the time to adjust my game and get to know this Taifong course,” said Kotake, who needed 27 putts. “So it was a but messy all around, but I’m happy that I made many birdies today to keep me in the race.” On the par-5 17th hole, her eighth hole of the day, Kotake sent the ball to just 3 feet on her second shot and picked up an easy eagle. There were only two eagles flying on the course throughout the day.

Kotake was in solo second through seventeen holes, but she hit short against the wind into the green-side bunker on her final 9th hole, which resulted in a bogey that pushed her down tied with compatriot Sakashita at 3-under.

Fresh off a victory at the Nan Yi Professional Golf Ladies Open, Lin Tzu-Chi kept it competitive on day one after making three birdies to just one bogey to conclude her round of 70. “To be honest I don’t feel I played well. I′ve spent a lot of time at Taifong and I felt like I knew the course so well that I could do so much better,” Lin said. “The more I wanted to do well, the more pressure I put on my shoulder. I felt kind of stressed the whole round.”

Wu Chia-Yen, who was equal second at Nan Yi, carded two birdies, blemish-free, and is also just four shots off the lead.

“My driver was so bad,” Wu said with a smile on her face. “It is probably one of my worst driving days. I missed a lot of fairways so I couldn’t really set it up. I hope I’ll drive better and get myself more opportunities tomorrow.”

At age 13, Wu made an unprecedented achievement by reaching the semifinals at the history-rich U.S. Amateur Championship in 2017. She backed it up with her maiden TLPGA Tour victory at the Party Golfers’ Ladies Open the following year.

Defending champion, another Taiwanese teenager Lu Hsin-Yu (盧昕妤) shot 73, sitting in a tie for 23rd.

KENTA Rubber player Yeh Hsin-Ning (葉欣寧) will have an indefinite break after this week to heal the Meniere′s disease. “I’ve been suffering with vertigo but I didn′t realized it was some kind of illness until a couple of weeks ago at the Nan Yi event, when I felt very bad during practice and mishit so much that I knew something in my body went wrong. I was then diagnosed with the Meniere′s disease. The doctor warned me that I needed to stop playing to receive thorough treatment.” Yeh registered a 75 to sit in a tie for 44th.

The TLPGA-organized event is title-sponsored by KENDA Rubber. It has been moved to the current venue since 2017 following a reconstruction of the previous venue, the Taipei Golf Club.

Second-round play begins at 8:00 in the morning from both first and tenth tees. A cut will be made to the low 50 and ties after the second round. The competition layout this year is set at 6,211 yards.

A hole-in-one prize of a BESV PSA1 electric bicycle will be up for grabs on the 15th hole at the Taifong golf club which is worth NT$48,000.