Australia’s Karis Davidson recorded six birdies during an eight-hole stretch to secure a tie for the lead after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship on Thursday in Haenam-gun, South Korea.
After starting on the back nine, Davidson began her birdie binge on hole No. 1.
Overall, she shot a 6-under 66 to match Yuri Yoshida of Japan on a windy day at the Pine Beach Golf Links. Both golfers are seeking their first wins on the LPGA Tour.
“It was just kind of one of those perfect days with my irons and hybrids that I nearly had a hole-in-one on the first birdie on the front nine — which was pretty cool and then just hit a couple of really close shots,” Davidson said. “But yeah, it was overall a really solid day.”
Davidson, 28, isn’t getting ahead of herself with three rounds to go.
“Just trying to stay patient because I’m assuming it’s going to be really tough,” she said. “Some weather conditions aren’t looking too good. So just continuing to do that and try and keep up my good iron shots.”
World No. 3 Haeran Ryu collected five birdies during her bogey-free round of 67 to reside one stroke back of the leaders. The South Korean recorded birdies on holes Nos. 2, 5 and 6 to get off to a fast start and is tied with Lucy Li, Lauren Coughlin and Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain.
Ryu, who owns five LPGA Tour titles, captured two majors this season at the Women’s PGA Championship and The Amundi Evian Championship.
Lopez Ramirez highlighted her round with seven birdies, with five coming on the front nine.
“I think it’s very important out here to hit lots of fairways and lots of greens, and I think that’s going to give you the answer,” she said. “I think the most important thing I think right now is just keep having my fun and try to keep my mind in a really good place. I think that’s what keeps you out there and not just going down.”
Melanie Green sits alone in seventh place at 4-under, just ahead of 10 golfers at 3-under.
Defending champion Sei Young Kim of South Korea, who is ranked ninth in the world, shot an opening-round 72.
This is the second of four events on the fall Asian swing, followed by tournaments in Malaysia and Japan.
