SHANGHAI – Arpichaya Yubol leads the LPGA Shanghai tournament after the first round, thanks to an impressive card of 64 strokes, eight under par, without bogeys. The Thai golfer, who has a 61 as her best career round, achieved four birdies in both the first nine holes and the second nine, demonstrating consistent and effective play. Minjee Lee, winner of the Women’s PGA Championship in June, is one stroke behind the leader along with Jenny Shin, Jenny Bae, Jeeno Thitikul, and Ina Yoon, who also achieved 65 strokes.
Ashleigh Buhai, 2022 Women’s British Open champion, signed a card of 68 strokes, while the defending champion, Ruoning Yin, completed the round with 71 strokes. The Shanghai event is the first of five tournaments in Asia. It will be followed by two weeks in South Korea, including the International Crown team event, and tournaments in Malaysia and Japan. Last week, Youmin Hwang extended the incredible streak on the LPGA Tour of having different winners in each of the 25 official tournaments this year. Hwang was the sixth South Korean player to win on the tour this year.I feel like, given the greens, I did pretty well to make, what, seven birdies, so it was a good day for me.
Minjee Lee
