Amateur talent An Ho-Yu (安禾佑) braved tough conditions in the Taiwan Golf Club, firing seven birdies to set the early pace at 5-under at the GRIN Cup Charity Open. Huang Ching (黃靖), sitting in solo second, is four shots off the lead.

The GRIN Cup Charity Open is the fourth leg of the 2020 TLPGA Tour, which was frozen for five months due to pandemic concerns.

“Four shots on this windy, firm golf course doesn’t really mean anything,” An said of the Taiwan Golf Club, nicknamed by the locals as the difficult “Old Tamsui Course”. “Anything can change with a couple of bad shots.”

An was one of the last two players standing in the extended final-round last week at the CTBC Ladies Open before the rain came and the amateur agreed to settle for solo second due to her higher regular round. She maintained that impressive form and produced a 67 in the first round of the GRIN Cup Charity Open.

“I honestly didn’t think anyone could make it this low on the Old Tamsui. So it was a very pleasant surprise that it was me that shot a 67,” said An, who was one of the lone two players to break par today. “I began the day with a three-putt bogey, because the green felt faster than the practice range. But after that, I was really consistent, just one more bogey for the rest of the day. I was quite comfortable on this firm course. It is similar to Linkou Golf Course where I grew up on.”

Huang Ching is the only other player to see red figures on the scorecard. She made six birdies and five bogeys to register a 71 on Thursday. “My driver wasn’t good. I started the day teeing into the woods three times in four holes, which cost me three shots,” said Huang. “Fortunately, I was feeling the ball much better later on, the putter was playing well especially. Only one bogey on the back nine.” Huang impressed with a streak of three birdies from no.15 to 17. She said she would also want to thank the caddies she had in her group, who were making insightful advice on how to attack the difficult course.

Chen Meng-Chu (陳孟竺), Ku Meng-Chen (古孟宸) and Chiang Yu-Wei (江語葳) were in a tie for third on even-par 72. “It was a challenging course, very hard to read the greens well,” Chen Meng-Chu said. “Staying on fairways is key. If you go into the roughs, it is going to cost you, because it will be almost impossible to stop the ball on the hard greens.”

Despite having pain in her left arm that persisted from last week, Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳) insisted to play in the GRIN Cup on her “home course”. The Taiwan Golf Club returned on the TLPGA Tour after five years of hiatus since the 2015 Lunch Club TPC Classic. “It’s played on the Old Tamsui! I have to be here,” said Chang. Although not at her best, Chang finished the first-round nicely in a tie for sixth, after carding three birdies, two bogeys and one double-bogey to close the day at 1-over.

Tu A-Yu, Tseng Hsiu-Feng and 12 other former TLPGA Tour stars were invited into a senior event to be held concurrently alongside the final round of the professional event this Saturday. The winning veteran will win a NT$50,000 prize check.

Charity donation is being raised before and throughout the event by GRIN, a leading membrane material manufacturer in Taiwan, which will be used to endow three local organizations.