Local girls Chen Ling-Jie (陳伶潔) and Jessica Peng (彭婕) shared the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the NT$4 million Party Golfers Ladies Open. They held a one-stroke lead over compatriot Huang Ching (黃靖) and Thai player Ornnicha Konsunthea.

P.K. Kongkraphan, a three-time champion on the 2023 TLPGA Tour, currently sit in lone fifth place.

The Party Golfers Ladies Open is now a co-sanctioned event by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT), which sent a 15-woman squad to the Lily Golf & Country Club in Hsinchu, Taiwan this week. Pauline del Rosario is leading the Filipino charge at the moment, who is in a super crowded nine-way tie for sixth after a first-round 69.

Jessica Peng, who is trying make a name on the LPGA’s Epson Tour in the U.S., started her day on the back nine with two consecutive birdies. She dropped a shot on the par-3 13th hole, but went unstoppable from there. Peng drained five birdie putts in a span of just eight holes from no.18 to no.7, largely thanks to an iron game that approached perfection.

“I was hitting so welI with the irons. It went almost anywhere I wanted it to, which gave me plenty of chances on the greens. I remember I had just about two putts that stood farther than 10 feet,” said Peng. “Me and my coach, we did a lot of homework, on which holes are worth some risk-taking, and which are not so much, and obviously, we did great.”

Peng is attempting to snatch her first Tour victory on Friday. “I hope I will be able to keep this level tomorrow,” she said.

In her sophomore year as a pro, Chen Ling-Jie also made a flawless start of the campaign. She racked up seven birdies as well, offset by one bogey on the par-3 6th. “My short game was great. I think I turned almost every opportunity I had into a birdie out there on the greens,” said Chen.

Three late birdies from 14 to 16 saved Huang Ching’s rather unexciting round. It could’ve been worse considering she got a couple of lucky bounces that carried the ball from potentially disastrous spots into scoring positions.

Huang was fresh off a T4 finish this past week in a China LPGA Tour challenger. “I feel I have been playing not so bad, but not so good, either. Some negative thoughts and self-doubts still pop up every now and then. I’m still learning to trust my game better,” said Huang, who carded a blemish-free 67 today.

Tying with Huang in equal third was Thailand’s Konsunthea, who shot six birdies and one bogey. The 27-year-old’s best result on the TLPGA Tour has been a runner-up showing back in 2019 at the Kaohsiung City Charity Open, where she was eliminated from a five-player play-off.

The Party Golfers, an amateur golf team comprised of local entrepreneurs who share a never-fading passion for the golf sport, has been lending their sponsorship supports to the TLPGA since 2014, when the first Party Golfers Open was staged, helping the Tour to finally make its stride to be accepted into the WWGR (World Women’s Golf Rankings) system at the end of that year. The tournament, now in its ninth year, walked into partnership with the Women′s Golf Association of the Philippines and became a co-sanctioned event in 2018.

Defending champion, 19-year-old Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍) is now in a tie for 16th with a Wednesday 71.

Second-round play begins at 6:30 on Thursday morning. The winner emerging from the competitive field will take away NT$720,000.