The Foxconn Ladies Golf Tournament on the Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA) Tour, which Hwang Yu-min won last year, has become a co-sanctioned event with the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour this year.
This year's tournament, which opened on December 12 at Orient Golf and Country Club (par 72) in Taoyuan, Taiwan, attracted a large contingent of top Japanese players. Only three KLPGA Tour players—Bang Shin-sil, Bae So-hyun, and Kim Min-sun 7—competed due to a scheduling conflict with their tour's season opener.
The "KLPGA trio" struggled through the first round, racking up bogeys and finishing in the middle-to-lower pack.
Bae So-hyun, who was paired with Japan's top-ranked Sakuma Shuri, had the toughest day. She made just one birdie against six bogeys and one double bogey, shooting 7-over-par 79. Tied for 89th among 108 players, she faces an immediate battle to make the cut.
Bang Shin-sil, who ranked third in scoring average on the KLPGA Tour last year, also fought a losing battle against bogeys. She managed only two birdies while recording eight bogeys for a 6-over-par 78, placing her in a tie for 72nd. Bang, who bogeyed four consecutive holes, also faces cut danger.
Kim Min-sun 7 posted the best result among the three, tying for 42nd. However, she too endured a fierce struggle, making three birdies against seven bogeys. She showed extreme inconsistency, bogeying five of six holes from the 4th through 9th.
Korean players competing on the JLPGA Tour fared significantly better. Shin Ji-ae and Jeon Mi-jung tied for 9th at 1-over-par 73, while Bae Sun-woo held on at 2-over-par 74 for a share of 22nd place.
Thailand's Nuk Sukapan sits atop the leaderboard. On a course so difficult that only five players broke par, she fired a 7-under-par 65 to lead Japan's Kanazawa Shina by two strokes. Sakuma Shuri, who topped the JLPGA Tour's money list, Player of the Year standings, and scoring average last year, sits alone in 5th place at 1-under-par 71. The winner of this $2 million purse event will take home $360,000 (approximately 530 million won).