World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand has been on an eight-tournament streak of top-10 finishes. She never fell outside the top 10 in six tournaments late last year and two this year. During that span, she recorded over-par only once—a 1-over 73 in the third round of the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. That was her only over-par round out of 31 rounds spanning 24 rounds across six tournaments last year and seven rounds across two tournaments this year. However, the weather during that third round was so poor that over-par scores were common. The tournament ultimately ended after three rounds when the final day was canceled due to severe weather.
At the first round of the HSBC Women's World Championship—the third LPGA Tour event of the season—held at Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong Course (par 72) in Singapore on February 26, Thitikul posted another over-par score. Despite favorable weather conditions, she managed only three birdies while making four bogeys for a 1-over 73. She sits tied for 36th among 72 players.
She missed only one fairway out of 14 holes and averaged 277 yards on two measured drives, but her short game around the greens and putting were lacking. She found a greenside bunker once, which led to a bogey, and her 34 putts were not a low number.
One Korean player matched Thitikul's birdie and bogey counts exactly on the day: Yoon Ina, now in her second LPGA season after enduring severe growing pains as a rookie last year.
The difference between the two players' rounds was that Thitikul's late bogeys dropped her in the standings, while Yoon's late birdies lifted her position.
Among 13 players tied at 36th, the two players born in 2003 were interestingly paired together for the second round. They will be joined by Nataliya Guseva, the only Russian player on the LPGA Tour.
On a day when Thitikul struggled, several Korean players performed well. Ryu Haeran shot a 4-under 68 to sit tied for third. Hwang Yu-min and Ko Jin-young each carded 3-under 69 to share eighth place. Choi Hye-jin, Lim Jin-hee, Kim Sei-young, and Kim Hyo-joo all finished at 1-under 71, tied for 18th after the first round.
Korean-American Austin Kim, who played in the same group as Yoon Ina on day one, fired a 6-under 66 to take the outright lead. Liu Yan of China sits one stroke back in solo second at 5-under 67.