Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆) fired 7 birdies in the first round of the 2020 WPG Ladies Open to take the clubhouse lead at 66. The tournament is only the second official 54-hole event on the 2020 TLPGA Tour due to the pandemic.

Recent winner at the 36-hole Nan Pao Heritage Tour, 16-year-old rookie pro Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏) sit just one shot behind.

LPGA Tour elite Hsu Wei-Lin (徐薇淩), and Chen Szu-Han (陳思涵), the runner-up in Nan Pao, were another shot off on Tuesday at 4-under 68.

Known for its challenging windy conditions, the Sunrise Golf Club was rather calm today to its standard but the heat proved another big hurdle for the players. Phoebe Yao said she was “lucky” to make good use of all the opportunities. “I didn’t think I’ve been in a great form. I was hoping to make it under 70 only and it turned out to be a nice surprise that I posted a 66.”

Yao was off to a flying start, converting four birdie putts on two par-5s and two par-4s on the front nine. Although she dropped a shot on the 16th, she scored another three birdies inwards to well compensate the loss, lifting herself to the top of the leaderboard at 6-under. “I was able to keep the ball in a pretty good position on the greens and really step in and take the chances with my putter,” Yao said, who is a Japan LPGA Tour member but has to take absence from it because of the government’s restrictions to avoid COVID-19 risks. “It’s a little disappointing to be forced out but this is how it should be done,” Yao reckoned.

Wu Chia-Yen, who won in her maiden outing as a pro in the 36-hole Nan Pao event, carded six birdies and one bogey to set herself in attacking position again. “It felt a bit different. Now that I’ve turned pro, it comes with the added pressure to do well because it means business,” Wu said. “You’ll hope to make a good earning, and of course you would like to build a great resume.”

Falling short to Wu after an extended play-off in Nan Pao, Chen Szu-Han is ready to “take revenge” as she said. “I used this break to really put in some work in the gym, and I’m glad it seems to be reflecting on my results.”

Sophomore at the University of Georgia, amateur Hung Jo-Hwa (洪若華) sits just three shots back of lead. Been training at Sunrise since she was a kid, Hung said she felt just like home playing at the WPG this year. She is the highest standing amateur in solo fifth.

The big-hitting former World No.1 Yani Tseng eagled twice in the first round today, but finished only at even-par to be in equal 16th. “That was about the only two holes that I played well,” Tseng summed up her round. “I’m still trying to find the pace after being away from the tour for so long.”

Babe Liu (劉嬿) took out her 5-iron and aced the 167-yard par-4 4th to be rewarded a NT$100,000 cash prize provided by the Taiwan High Tech Charity. It was her fourth career hole-in-one.

She took advantage of the momentum to make the turn at 3-under par but dropped to 3-over in the end after taking a big hit on the par-5 13th where she needed nine shots, including a water penalty, to complete. “It completely ruined the joy coming with the ace.” Liu is in a tie for 35th at the end.

There will be a cut to be made tomorrow. Only the top-50 and ties after the second round on Wednesday shall advance into the final day.