TLPGA Tour rookie, Taiwan’s Yu Han-Hsuan (俞涵軒), who was a part of the Oklahoma State University’s NCAA roster, is in outright lead for the first time after shooting five birdies to card a 69 in the first round of the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open on Wednesday. The NT$8-million event is the final leg of the 2024 Tour.

LPGA Tour veteran, 2021 champion Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩) turned in a 70 to sit in a tie for second with Lee Hsin (李欣). 2018 winner Lee Min (李旻) scored two birdies on the last two holes to sit in equal third with teenager Annika Chen (陳襄), Chou Yi-Tsen (周怡岑), Vivian Chen (陳薇安), and Thai player Nook Sukapan.

Yu, who may have been pumped by her brother Kevin Yu’s recent triumph on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship, displayed solid hitting and remarkable putting at the Taifong Golf & Country Club to earn the lead with a 3-under 69.

“I did not think the ball always went the way I wanted it, but the outcome was not too bad. I was doing pretty well on the green, though. My putter was hot today,” said Yu, who needed just 26 putts in the first round.

Hsu Wei-Ling got off to a sluggish start, opening the round with two three-putt bogeys. But the LPGA Tour titlist recovered well after that, adding four birdies to the tally, and now trailed by just one shot.

“It was cold in the morning and so was my putter,” said Hsu. “But yeah, I tried my best to steady the ship. The tempo was pretty slow all day, especially in the later part of the day. I was constantly trying to get something to eat during the wait, to keep my energy up. I’m glad that I finally turn it to a red number.”

Lee Hsin finished in the fourth place in last year’s tournament, and she brought back the old putter she used then, which proved to be a great attempt. She made a first-round 70 to be in a tie for second with Hsu. “My new putter has been hot and cold, so my team and I were thinking maybe we try again the old one for this week. And I felt pretty good,” said Lee Hsin, who grabbed five birdies and was one time at the top of the leaderboard on 4-under, but three inward bogeys made her settle for just a 2-under as the day ended.

2018 champ Lee Min is still fighting a nagging hip pain. She took some time to settle into the round, making nine straight pars and one bogey before she scored her first birdie on the 11th hole. She dropped another shot on the 13th, but mounted two late birdies to wrap up the round in red figure. “I had a lot of in-between clubs. And I felt I wasn’t reading the break too well on these greens,” said Lee, who delivered a first-round 71.

High school student Annika Chen also shot a 1-under 71. This is the second appearance at the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open for the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) member.

Another former winner, Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸) was still getting herself back in shape after an illness she had at the start of the week. She had one birdie and one bogey throughout the calm first round to sit in equal ninth on even-par at the moment.

Chien won the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open four years ago in 2020, which was the first of her four top-tier TLPGA Tour victories, including the Hitachi Ladies Classic title at the start of the year. “I’m hoping my body can hold up. I started the year really well with the Hitachi Classic win, and now I want to finish it in style as well,” said Chien, who has shifted her focus onto the LPGA Tour and Epson Tour in the United States, having recorded two LPGA Tour top-10 finishes this year, and took part only in these two TLPGA Tour events in 2024.

Defending champion Juliana Hung (洪玉霖) earned two birdies on her front nine (starting on the 10th), but saw fatigue catch up after the turn as she committed one double-bogey and two bogeys to finish in a tie for 25th at 2-over 74.

Thailand’s P.K. Kongkraphan, who has been one of the standout performers on the TLPGA Tour over the last two seasons with seven titles, made a surprise eagle on the par-4 sixth hole, but faded away with two double-bogeys and five bogeys. She will need to elevate her game to avoid the cut tomorrow as she is now in a tie for 62. A cut will be made after 36 holes to only the top-50 and ties.

The season-end Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open tees up today, featuring a record high NT$8 million total prize (60% increase from last year). The event is held at the Taifong Golf & Country Club in Changhua for the second year in a row.

A 102-player international field sees five former champions return, including defending champion Juliana Hung, Hsu Wei-Ling, Lee Min, Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒), and Chien Pei-Yun. Winner on Friday will take away a historic NT$1.5 million cash prize.