From LPGA Tour
After Ashleigh Buhai solo-led after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship last season, she once again finds herself in familiar footing in 2024. This time, the two-time winning South African is joined by two others after the opening round on Thursday at Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club.
First to enter the clubhouse after her round, Buhai began her day strong with birdies on four of the first five holes before making the turn. On the back nine, she recorded two more birdies on holes 11 and 12 before adding her final two of the round on 15 and 17 to stand alone atop the leaderboard once again.
“Yeah, this course it does suit me. Last year in the first here I shot 10-under, so I clearly like the first rounds at this golf course,” Buhai said. “The conditions were perfect. It was a little cold when we teed off so the ball was traveling like one club less. But on the back nine it was beautiful. Yeah, I just hit it into good areas, and like I said, made some really good putts.”
Meanwhile, Hannah Green began her ascent up the leaderboard. After a slow start of three-straight pars, the two-time winner this season picked up the pace recording four birdies on the final six holes of the front and made the turn down four strokes. The Aussie carried her momentum of the front-nine into the back picking up birdies on 12 and 14 before ending her day with back-to-back birdies and a clean, bogey-free scorecard.
“When I actually played in the pro-am a couple days ago, I had the same score,” the Aussie said. “It was nice to play some simple golf. Last week in China, I just had a very mixed scorecard, made some bigger numbers, and just to go bogey-free was really nice but it also helps when you hit 18 greens. I think I only missed one fairway. So it was nice to be really stress-free out there and obviously see a few putts go.”
Last but certainly not least, Korea’s own Jenny Shin made her presence known quickly registering four birdies on the back-nine, which was her front on Thursday. The cluster of birdies including three-straight from holes 14 to 16 before she made the turn at four-under. Eyeing the top of the leaderboard, the Seoul native added another birdie on two, back-to-back birdies on five and six before coming to the final two holes. Trailing the leaders by a stroke, Shin added her eighth birdie on eight with a hole to go and a chance at the solo lead. She parred the hole, but finds herself leading in her home country.
“I don’t know,” Shin said about what worked well for her today. “I usually struggle on Korean golf courses but I think I… I don’t know. I think I let go of that expectation of being a Korean and needing to show a certain result. I think I’ve always had a very high expectation of that. But yeah, I think I just stayed patient and let myself shine without trying so hard.”
2023 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year Haeran Ryu stands alone in solo-fourth with a lone bogey standing in the way of her and leading with the others. Six players are tied for fifth at six-under including 2024 tour rookies Yu Jin Sung and Mao Saigo. Saigo leads the tour in top-10 finishes this season without a win after earning her seventh in last week’s Buick LPGA Shanghai. Koreans Eun-Hee Ji and Hye-Jin Choi are also in the mix after they both went bogey-free. Europeans Gemma Dryburgh and Celine Boutier are also tied for fifth and just two shots back of the leaders. Defending champion Minjee Lee is just on the outside of that cluster at five-under and tied for 11th after going bogey-free with five birdies on Thursday.
Paula Reto opened with a one-under-par 71 for a share of 56th.
