Recently atop the women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking and currently on No.3, Hou Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) took the solo lead on 6-under after the first-round of the seventh-annual Party Golfers Ladies Open.

Her elder sister Hou Yu-Sang (侯羽桑), Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹), Wang Li-Ning (王莉甯), and Yang Fei-Chien (楊斐茜) are in a four-way tie for third on 5-under par. In comfortable scoring conditions on Wednesday at the Sunrise Golf & Country Club, seven other players also finished the first-round within just three shots off the lead. It is of great possibility the second-round tomorrow will see a big shuffle on the leaderboard.

Title-sponsor Party Golfers, an amateur golf team comprised of local entrepreneurs, who share a strong passion and social responsibility to promote and develop the golf sport, announced on the pre-tournament press conference it will offer bonus NT$100,000 cash prizes for each player who would wrap up the week in red numbers. In a surprisingly nice weather today at the Sunrise, which is known for its wicked windy conditions, 17 players broke par.

“I realized I was rushing a little from the get-go, making some poor judgement. And then I started to pay more attention to the approaches, making sure that I hit the good spot on the greens, and the birdie count started to rise,” said Hou Yu-Chiang, who concluded the round with three consecutive birdies, tallying a total of seven birdies throughout the day.

Hou Yu-Sang also used a late charge, a back-nine 32, to go into a tie for second. “We came here at the Sunrise to prepare for this week the other day and though we knew it’d be windy, it was, I mean, really windy!” Yu-Sang said. “We were discussing about how to fight the crazy wind but turned out it was actually pretty calm all day. Perfect for some low scores and I think I took the opportunities well.”

Yang Fei-Chien, who dropped her co-lead status until her last hole (hole no.9), is only in her first year as a pro. ““I tried to just focus on one shot at a time, putting the ball to where it should be. It was a pretty good start!” Yang scored six birdies, offset by just that one unfortunate bogey on the last minute. “I am playing well at the moment but still there are many aspects I want to improve. And honestly, I really don’t have much experience at this level. All I could do is to talk as much with my mentors. It’s going to be a precious learning experience to play in the leading pack!”

Chen Yu-Ju’s potential leading score of 7-under, thanks to seven birdies, was also taken away by one mistake, and that mistake cost her two shots─a double-bogey on the par-4 third. “Overall, I’m feeling much better than last week at the BNP PARIBAS & TLPGA Heritage Tour, made seven birdies. Not bad at all. My iron game was key. I hope it will continue to earn me birdies in the next couple of days.”

Wu Yi-Ching (伍以晴) was one of the leaders on birdie count (7), too. But her score card saw one bogey and double-bogey which put her down to just 4-under par, tying for the fourth place. “I’ve trained at the Sunrise for a period of time. So, I know the course pretty well, which made me feel relaxed and I guess that helped me with my performance today.”

Teenagers Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍) and Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏) both registered 69 to sit in a tie for eighth. “I am still fighting nerves to really play my best game,” said Liu, who acquired her pro status not long ago. “But obviously I’m improving. I’m really looking forward to the following rounds.”

The Party Golfers Ladies Open this year features a NT$3 million purse. The winner will take away a NT$540,000 prize check.

A cut will be made to the top-50 and ties after the second round. The Hou sisters and Wang Li-Ning will be among the last flight to go for Round 2 at tee time 8:39 a.m..