Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏) shot a 4-under 68 to take the first-round lead at the YICHEN Heritage Tour. She holds a 1-shot advantage in the hands over Lai Yi-Ting (賴怡廷) ahead of the final-round tomorrow in the 36-hole event.

In the “Heritage Tour” event format, the amateur and junior players are paired with the professionals, so the young ones can closely interact with local elites and pick up valuable learning experience. The YICHEN Heritage Tour is sponsored by the Lily Golf & Country Club and some supportive, amateur individuals who have been taught by Liu Yi-Chen, a former golf professional and now the TLPGA Chairwoman.

The weather forecast said light rains would be expected during the tournament days, but luckily on Day 1, only short drizzles fell about only at the end of the round. Chang took her chances in the surprisingly great conditions to bring in an impressive seven birdies, offset by three bogeys.

“I’m happy with how I played, my short game especially. I used to struggle a bit on slower greens, but today, I was putting that extra speed in my putter and it worked pretty well, made a lot of mid-range putts, which could have easily gained me a few more shots,” said Chang.

After the rough Covid times, Chang has developed some new hobbies, spending times in water-skiing, snow-boarding, and outdoor camping to kind of let out the pressure from competitive golf. “I always like trying new things and they give me peace,” said Chang, who is still searching for her first Open-tier TLPGA Tour victory. “I’m not getting any younger, especially for an athlete. So, I’m really eager to find a better work-life balance and hopefully that peace and wisdom I gained through time would transform into a weapon for me on the golf course, not messing up my opportunities again in those deciding moments, which I’ve obviously had on a few occasions but never really made it.”

Lai Yi-Ting carded one eagle, five birdies, but also made four bogeys to finish the round with a 69. On the par-4 2nd hole, Lai holed it out from 65 yards to make actually a “second” eagle this week. “I came into the first-round confidently, because I’ve been feeling very well during practice,” said Lai; however, she was not happy with her putter today. “I don’t think I really did anything too wrong, but in the end, I needed 30 putts. That was unacceptable. Hopefully I will improve on Friday.”

In her sixth year on the Tour, Lai wished she would finally lift a big title. “I feel I’m about at the top of my game at the moment. I have a strong faith in myself, that I’m going to get my first big victory on the tour by the end of the year!”

Solo in third was Babe Liu (劉嬿) at 2-under 70, who turned 30 years old this January. She admitted this would be the last season for her as a golf professional.

“My life has been all golf for the past 30 years. It’s time for me to spend some more time in other things I wanted to do, and to be with my families,” Liu said. “I’ve got this idea already in last year, when I reviewed at my results overseas at the higher level these past few years. They are still far from what I hoped I would achieve. Now that I’m 30 already, I felt like it was time for me to prioritize other important life goals.”

“With this new mindset, I’m actually playing in a more relaxed way. And still, I’m enjoying golf as much as ever. It just reached a timing when I felt like I need to move on to the next chapter of my life,” Liu added, who needed a few more holes on Thursday to find her groove after a first-hole bogey, finishing the round with six birdies and three more bogeys.

Three years ago when most of the tours in the world were in Covid lockdown, the first annual YICHEN Future Open, a TLPGA Tour Futures-tier and 54-hole event, was held, giving junior prospect Hou Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) a final push with her champion points to rise to the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). The YICHEN event has changed into the 36-hole “Heritage Tour” format in its second edition.