LPGA rookie Hwang Yu-min faced off against Rookie of the Year rival Mimi Rhodes of England in the same group on the first day of the Blue Bay LPGA, the final event of the LPGA Tour Asian Swing held in China. The result was an overwhelming victory for Hwang.
Hwang claimed the solo lead to mount a title challenge, while Rhodes languished in a tie for 76th place, facing cut danger. However, formidable competitors emerged in Hwang's path to victory: Chinese players on their home course.
Hwang carded a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 with six birdies in the first round at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course (par 72) in Hainan Province, China, on Thursday to share the lead. All players who matched her 6-under score were Chinese. Zhang Weiwei and Liu Mary posted 6-under 66s to join Hwang atop the leaderboard.
Of the 108 players competing in this cut event, 29 are Chinese. Despite having the largest national contingent, most were expected to finish near the bottom as they primarily compete on the lower-ranked China Tour. First-round results proved the opposite. Three of the six players in the top 5 are Chinese, while five of the 12 players in the top 10 are Chinese nationals. They are creating an upset by leveraging home-course advantage. Hwang now finds herself competing against Chinese players for the title.
Hwang lived up to her "charging captain" nickname with a scorching run on Thursday. Starting on the 10th hole, she parred her first five holes before announcing her presence with three consecutive birdies from the 15th hole. Though she settled for par on the par-5 18th, she followed with birdies on the 1st and 2nd holes, notching 5-under over a six-hole stretch. After five consecutive pars, Hwang collected her sixth birdie on the par-5 8th hole to complete a flawless scorecard of bogey-free 6-under 66.
Lee Mi-hyang fired a 5-under 67 to finish tied for fourth alongside fellow Korean-American Austin Kim and China's An Jining. World No. 10 Yin Ruoning of China, the highest-ranked player in the field, shot 4-under 68 to sit tied for seventh.
Kim A-rim and Choi Un-jeong are tied for 20th at 2-under 70, while Choi Hye-jin and Shin Ji-eun finished the opening round tied for 26th alongside defending champion Takeda Rio of Japan.
LPGA rookie Lee Dong-eun, making her first start of the season, managed four birdies but surrendered six bogeys for a 2-over 74, leaving her tied for 63rd.
