Thailand’s Punpaka Phuntumabamrung, with a stunning putting display, takes the first-round lead at the NT$3.5-million Party Golfers Ladies Open.

Phuntumabamrung holds a three-shot advantage at 6-under 66 over compatriot Chonlada Chayanun, Taiwanese Chang Ya-Chi (張亞琦) and Hanna Chen (陳子涵).

Another pair of Thai sits in equal fifth at 2-under par with Jackie Chulya and Trichat Cheenglab tying Taiwan’s Lee Hsin (李欣), 2022 TLPGA Tour no.2 on the Money List, Chen Ling-Jie (陳伶潔), Yang Fei-Chien (楊斐茜), and Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳).

On its eighth leg, the 2022 TLPGA Tour travels to Hsinchu’s Lily Golf Club this week. After an early morning drizzle, the weather was fairly pleasant throughout Wednesday. Phuntumabamrung made use of the great scoring conditions, firing six birdies thanks to her putting precision. She needed just 25 putts, wrapping up the flawless round fittingly with a 15-yard chip-in on the last hole.

“Yeah, I was very clutch with my putter,” said Phuntumabamrung, who was also quite steady from the tees with 14 fairways, as well as 15 greens hit in regulation. Her longest successful attempt on the greens was on the 15th hole from 24 feet. “I’m really happy to be competing overseas and especially in Taiwan after some rough years with the pandemic.”

Phuntumabamrung, who finished the 2022 Thai LPGA Tour season inside the top 30, also played in last week’s SAMPO Ladies Open and completed the event in a tie for eighth.

Hanna Chen accidentally pulled her right thumb a couple of weeks ago while carrying a suitcase, forcing her to withdraw from the SAMPO event. She is back this week at the Party Golfers. Still feeling sore in the finger, Chen took a more conservative approach with less power but more accuracy, and the strategy worked well. She now looms in equal second after shooting a 69.

“I took out my 3-wood on some tees in replace of a driver, so that I could gain more control over it. But I thought what helped me the most was my new putter. It rolls with more of a top spin which suits Lily’s greens so well. It almost felt like the ball just oozed its way to the hole,” Chen said.

Chang Ya-Chi also finished the round with a 3-under 69, carding five birdies and two bogeys. “I had three or four bad misses from about just two feet, which was disappointing, but at the same time I made some crucial par putts,” said Chang, who needed also just 28 putts. “Overall, it was a pretty good round. I found a lot of greens, nice spots, too. I’ve played here at the Lily Club a few times this year already. Finished in the 60s twice. So I felt quite comfortable playing here.”

An impressive late charge saw Chonlada Chayanun picked up five shots in the last six holes to shoot up into a tie for third. This was her fourth TLPGA Tour event in 2022, with two top-10 finishes in the recent SAMPO Ladies Open and Da Da DIGITAL Ladies Open.

Rookie pro Chen Ling-Jie took solo lead at the turn after scoring four birdies on the front nine, however, she could not keep up the pace, closing with bogeys on the par-5 14th and the final hole.

In fact, Chen needed just 11 attempts on the greens on the first half of the day. “The pin placements were more difficult on the back nine. I lost a bit of momentum facing some tough putts,” Chen said. She turned pro in August, and registered one top-10 finish so far in her young career at the Da Da DIGITAL. “I have a goal in me to finish in the top-10 in every tournament. But my short game would have to improve a bit. And also with more experience, especially when we have to adjust ourselves to new conditions almost every week, I know I can do that.”

The same trend goes with Chang Ya-Chun, who started off on a high but things turned for the worse into the backnine. “My driver tends to sit in the narrow part of the fairways, unfortunately, on many holes on this layout, which forced me to sacrifice a bit of distance off the tees,” said Chang, with only 11 fairways hit. “I’ll need to come up with a new game plan for tomorrow.”

Yang Fei-Chien, who found the top of the leaderboard a few times today as well, dropped into a tie for fifth at 70 after finishing bogey-bogey on the final holes. Last August, Yang lifted her first professional win at the 36-hole YICHEN Heritage Tour right here on the Lily course.

Lee Hsin, who’s got two victories under her belt this year at the WPG Ladies Open and Jing-Mao Ladies Open, collected one eagle and five birdies, offset by five bogeys, in the first-round. She’s still in contention for a record third win with just four shots off the lead.

The TLPGA Tour Pro-Test was held meantime this week, with Tseng Tsai-Ching (曾彩晴), last week’s Nan Yi Open champion, on course for winning the membership with a brilliant 6-under 66.

The event is title-sponsored by The Party Golfers, an amateur golf team comprised of local entrepreneurs who share a strong passion for the golf sport. They’ve been lending their sponsorship supports since 2014, when the first Party Golfers Open was staged and the first year the TLPGA Tour was recognized by the WWGR (World Women’s Golf Rankings).

The eighth edition of the Party Golfers Ladies Open features 73 professionals, alongside 28 amateurs, who are competing for a top cash prize of NT$630,000.

The Party Golfers has been an official partner with the TLPGA since the year of 2014:

2014 - First Party Golfers TLPGA Open was held. Thai player Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul became the first champion.
2015 - Lu Ya-Huei (呂雅惠) emerged victorious at the second Party Golfers TLPGA Open.
2016- Chen I-Wen (陳依妏) won the third edition of the Party Golfers TLPGA Open.
2017 - The Party Golfers co-organized the qualification event of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship.
2018 - The Party Golfers Ladies Open returned to the schedule, co-sanctioned by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour. The winner was Wu Chia-Yen.
2019 - Co-sanctioned by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, the Party Golfers Ladies Open was won by Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲)
2020 – Lee Min (李旻) became the sixth winner of the Party Golfers Ladies Open at the Sunrise Golf Club.
2021 – Wu Chia-Yen won for the second time on the Lily course.