Defending champion Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) converted six birdies against two bogeys to shoot a 4-under 68 in the first-round of Wistron Ladies Open, which built a three-shot lead already in the 54-hole tournament. In a crowded five-way tie for second on 1-under par were Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), Chen Min-Jou (陳敏柔), Tai Chia-Wen (戴嘉汶), Huang Pei-Wen (黃珮雯), and Lee Chia-Pei (李佳霈).

Shih was in her final preparation in Shanghai, China, a few months ago for the resumption of the China LPGA Tour before it was called off again, causing her to miss the last two TLPGA Tour premier events. “The training in Shanghai helped in a way, actually. The fast greens here at the Sunrise Golf Club are pretty similar to those in Shanghai, so I felt I need no time to adapt to them. It definitely worked as my advantage,” said Shih, who won the first Wistron Ladies Open last year in a different venue─Tong Hwa Golf Club. “I wasn’t really thinking about repeating the win. I just hoped I could bring my best game, which I think I did today. Solid hitting, and needed just 27 putts.”

Only six players broke par today on the difficult Sunrise layout, which accentuates the value of Shih’s performance. “The wind is a huge factor here at the Sunrise. Normally, I have no problem hitting against the wind, but when hitting into the wind, I might have to be careful with the extra yardage and that it’s going to be hard to stop,” Shih analyzed.

The recent CTBC Invitational champion Wu Chia-Yen still couldn’t quite get over the fact that she returned to the clubhouse at “only” 1-under, after her ball circled the cup again on the 18th tee before it was spilt out. “I was playing well, but the putting really got me frustrated,” said Wu, who needed 34 putts. “I hit 17 greens but the putts just missed it by a narrow margin over and over again. I was annoyed and on the 13th I made a bogey for the only time today after a three-putt.” Wu scored two birdies going out, but an uninspired back-nine saw her drop back to 1-under. The teenager stayed on the practice range with her putter for a while after the first-round ended.

Huang Pei-Wen gave credits to her improved iron game for a competitive 71 on Wednesday. “My coach and I spent quite some time finding the right height of my back swing; it’s been a little too short. And the effect was obviously great. I made some almost impossible saves like what I did to turn around the situation on the 9th, where I hit to the edge of the woods; the trees were in my back swing, but I ended up just 1 foot away and took a birdie,” Huang said. She recorded a total of four birdies, offset by three bogeys. “I have been working hard on my fitness as well to ensure I could sustain my level. However, putting was something that let me down. I went too big lots of times on these fast greens. I hope I will do better tomorrow.”

Tai Chia-Wen, on the contrary, struggled a bit in the windy conditions and committed some wild iron shots, but the putting accuracy kept her in contention. She used just 28 putts, also thanks to her impressive touch with her chip-and-putts. “I went 7 out of 8 with the par saves, thanks to my good wedges around the greens,” said Tai, who had two birdies and one bogey on her first-round score card. “I had a steady season so far but not yet some breakout results. I’m really hoping this is it.”

Second-round actions begin Thursday at 7:00 with Shih, Huang, and Tai teeing off in the last flight at 8:40.

Wistron Ladies Open raised its total prize money from NT$6 million to NT$10 million this year, becoming one of the premier $10-million majors on the TLPGA Tour. 54 TLPGA professionals will be vying for a NT$2 million top prize.