Akie Iwai leads the Lotte Championship with an outstanding performance
HONOLULU – Akie Iwai impressed in the first round of the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship, with a score of 8 under par, recording an impressive 64 in favorable morning conditions at Hoakalei Country Club. The 23-year-old Japanese golfer shared the course with her twin sister Chisato.“It was fun. I’m looking forward to tomorrow too.”
Akie IwaiBoth Iwai sisters, competing as rookies this year, have achieved victories on the circuit. Chisato triumphed in Mayakoba, Mexico, in May, while Akie won the Portland Classic in August. During the day, Akie got birdies on three of the first four holes. Later, she added six birdies in a stretch of nine holes, finishing with a bogey on the 9th hole, a par 3. For her part, Chisato completed the round with 70 strokes. Nasa Hataoka, also from Japan, was one stroke away with 65, tied with Gabriela Ruffels from Australia and Peiyun Chien from Taiwan.The defending champion, A Lim Kim of South Korea, achieved the best round of the afternoon session with 66 strokes, including four consecutive birdies on the back nine. Thai players Patty Tavatanakit and Pornanong Phatlum also signed a 66 in the morning. Nelly Korda started with 69 strokes in the afternoon, with birdies on the first three holes, although she offset two bogeys with two additional birdies.“We played at 7:30 in the morning and the wind wasn’t blowing. I feel like the defense of this course is the wind, so, having a tee time in the afternoon tomorrow, I think it’s going to be a little bit trickier and it could be harder to shoot a lower number.”
Gabriela RuffelsAfter a season with seven victories, Korda has yet to win this year and has lost her number 1 ranking to Jeeno Thitikul. The circuit has had a different winner in each of its 24 official tournaments this year. Charley Hull tied Korda with 69 strokes. Hull won the Kroger Queen City Championship three weeks ago in Ohio, after Thitikul had four putts on the final hole. Brooke Henderson, winner in 2018 and 2019 at Ko Olina, finished the round with 70 strokes. Following this event, the LPGA will move to Asia for a series of tournaments that will span five consecutive weeks in Shanghai, South Korea, Malaysia, and Japan.“A round with ups and downs, but overall, happy to finish at 3 under par. Definitely, a long way to go to get into contention.”
Nelly Korda
