World No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan made five birdies and an eagle in a seven-hole stretch on the back nine on Thursday to finish with a seven-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead with Park Hee-young in the LPGA Founders Cup.
Tseng birdied the 11th, 13th and 14th holes, eagled the par-five 15th, and birdied the 16th and 17th. She had a 4 foot try for another birdie on 18, but pulled her putt just left.
“I tried too hard on the last hole,” Tseng said. “I think it’s harder at the end because you are trying, you’re saying: ‘Oh, I have three, I have four.’ And you want to go five, six, seven, and every hole is harder. You’re just trying harder and harder.”
Photo: AFP
Tseng successfully defended her LPGA Thailand title last month for her 13th LPGA Tour victory. The Taiwanese star led the tour last season with seven victories — including major victories in the LPGA Championship and Women’s British Open — and finished the year with 12 worldwide titles.
Playing in perfect conditions at Wildfire Golf Club, Tseng holed a 9 foot putt on the 485-yard 15th after fading her 219 yard approach with a rescue club to the middle pin placement.
“It was a little fade, a little cut there,” Tseng said. “It was just a little crowd, so I didn’t know if my ball was close or not, but I had a good shot and it was like 9 feet and a pretty straight putt.”
On the par-four 16th, her short iron shot to the elevated green spun back to 8 feet to set up a birdie. She then hit to 3 feet on the par-three 17th for her final birdie.
“I just hit it one shot at a time because I don’t even know what hole I am on,” Tseng said. “I just really focus on one shot at a time, try to hit a good drive, get a good second shot and make good putt.”
She played the first 10 holes in even par, countering a bogey on the fourth with a birdie on the par-five fifth.
“First nine, I was missing a few putts, but I kept telling myself: ‘Just be patient,’” Tseng said.
However, Tseng’s compatriots did not fare as well. Candie Kung shot a three-over 75 and sandwiched a double-bogey on 12 between birdies on 11 and 13. Amy Hung carded a seven-over 79 that included three double-bogies, but she sank an eagle-3 on 15 for a lone bright spot in a round to forget.
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