Minjee Lee plays her approach to the first green in the first round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore today.
MINJEE Lee, despite almost losing her ball in shoulder high grass on the sixth hole, was the best of a disappointing Australian contingent after the first round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore today.
Lee, already the winner of two major events on the LPGA Tour, recovered to shoot two-under-par 70 to be tied third at the spectacular Sentosa golf course on the shores of Singapore harbour.
She is two strokes behind Korean A Lim Kim, the winner of the season-opening Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida, who played superb golf on a tricky day to shoot 68, one stroke clear of England’s Charley Hull.
Defending champion Hannah Green bogeyed the 18th hole for a disappointing three-over-par 75, and the Western Australian faces a difficult task to repeat last year’s triumph.
The other three Aussies – Grace Kim (78), Gabi Ruffels (80) and Steph Kyriacou (82) – are well back in the field of 66 golfers, and seemingly out of contention.
Minjee Lee, wielding her new long putter, sank a 10m putt from the back of the green for a birdie three on the par-four opening hole, but bogeyed the par four third.
On the sixth, she drove into the rough on the left, and eventually found her ball well off the fairway. Even after taking a penalty and moving her ball a full two club lengths, she was barely able to drop it outside the shoulder high grass, and did well to escape with just a bogey.
Birdies on the eighth and 10th took her to two-under, and she was able to hold that margin until the end. Only two strokes from the lead Lee, the winner of 10 LPGA events, is well placed to challenge for her first title since 2023.
Green, who has developed an unfortunate tendency to begin slowly, never looked comfortable on Sentosa’s tricky greens.
Even with the card after 11 holes, she double-bogeyed the par four 12th, then had a bogey five on the 14th. A birdie on 17, the product of a five-metre putt for two, gave promise of a strong finish, but she putted poorly on 18 for a bogey five.
Tied 37th, she seems too far back, though she did win last year’s title after a similarly poor first round.
Powerful Korean A Lim Kim, who has begun this year’s LPGA Tour in great style, had no such troubles.
She collected birdies on six, eight, 12, 13 and 15 to reach five-under, but surprisingly gave back a shot on the par five 16th hole. Apart from that one blemish she was in control of her game throughout the round, reaching 15 of the 18 greens in regulation.
Charley Hull on the first hole.
Charley Hull, the colourful English woman who claims she never practices golf, breezed around in a bogey-free three-under 69, lies second and looms as a real threat in this tournament of star golfers.
Sharing third place with Lee on 70 are China’s Ruoning Yin, Korea’s Hye-jin Choi and Mexican Gaby Lopex.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, the world’s No 3 golfer, is tied seventh on one-under 71, along with tournament favourite Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand, who recorded her 32nd consecutive under par round, dating back to the 2024 FM Championship.
If she scores four rounds under par this week, she will pass Korean Jin Young Ko’s record of 34 consecutive rounds under par.
Inside Golf is a proud media partner of the event, which has attracted nine of the world’s top 10 players. The 72-hole tournament concludes on Sunday.
