HAINAN, South Korea — Two 10-year LPGA Tour veterans, 32-year-old Sei-young Kim and 34-year-old American Lindy Duncan, were among the leaders after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship on Thursday.
Kim had eight birdies and one eagle at Pine Beach Golf Links to top the leaderboard with a 10-under 62. Duncan birdied three of the last five holes to close in on a two-stroke lead.
Between them was Kim Hyo-joo, who hit 63 hits.
Sei-young Kim joined the LPGA Tour in 2015, one year after Duncan. The big difference is that Kim has 12 LPGA wins, while Duncan has none.
Kim Byeong-hyun made a birdie on the par-3 15th hole to reach 9 under par and take the lead.
“This is close to my hometown, so I have a lot of family, cousins, and fans,” Kim said. “So I had a great start and had a lot of support all the way from the first hole to the 18th hole.”
Rio Takeda shot a 65 and tied for fourth in the group.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson shot a 67, and American Lucy Lee, who won the car with a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th hole, shot a 68.
“It was a good number into the wind. I hit it toward the pin,” Lee said of the ace. “I thought I might be a little short, but I went in. I was a little scared. I thought this was the hole-in-one hole. I’ve been complaining to my caddy all week about not being able to hole out this year.”
Defending champion Hannah Green started with back-to-back birdies, but stalled throughout the round and finished with a 68, as did fellow Australian Minjee Lee.
Green’s victory last year was her third of the 2024 season, making her the first Australian since Curry Webb to achieve three wins in a season on the LPGA Tour.
Green’s recent tour results include a tie for 28th and failing to qualify in Canada in August and a tie for 66th in Arkansas in September.
“My golf hasn’t quite been where I want it to be,” Green said before the first round. “The last few months have probably been the hardest of my career.” “I’ve been back in Australia for the last three weeks so it’s allowed me to reset.”
This is the first consecutive tournament to be held in South Korea, with an International Crown Team event scheduled for next week.
Gino Titicle became the first multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this season with a five-hole playoff victory over Minami Katsu, who shot a 68 in South Korea on Thursday, in Shanghai last week. Titikul will not play this week but will be part of Thailand’s squad for next week’s International Crown.
After the International Crown, two more LPGA events are scheduled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Japan in the five-event Asian Swing.