TIANJIN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- A week after winning in Chongqing, Natthakritta Vongtaveelap picked up where she left off at the Tianjin Women's Open on Thursday, carding a six-under 66 in the first round to take a one-stroke lead.
Playing over the C and D nine-hole layouts at Tianjin Fortune Lake Golf Club, Guangdong veteran Sui Xiang and Thailand's Pimnipa Panthong shared second place on 67 at the 800,000-yuan CLPG Tour event.
Kultida Pramphun was two shots off the pace on 68, one stroke ahead of fellow Thai Dussavi Soopimjit and China's Xu Ying and Chen Ruining, who both shot 69.
"It's kind of perfect today, with perfect shots and putting," said Bangkok native Natthakritta, whose round included seven birdies, including four in a row from the ninth hole, and a lone bogey on the 172-yard seventh hole.
"This course is narrow, windy and difficult. The wind was against me most of the time. Tomorrow I will just keep everything simple, just let the game flow and as I said yesterday, don't be greedy."
Sui, who won in Tianjin in 2023 for her second and most recent CLPG Tour title, held firm in the blustery conditions to post a bogey-free round featuring five birdies, the last two coming on the 16th and 17th holes.
"As the first champion of this event, to come back and be near the top of the leaderboard again I feel Tianjin is a lucky place for me. I even had that feeling today. I'm very satisfied with my score," said the 27-year-old, who tied for third last month at the GolfJoy Women's Open at Mission Hills Golf Club in Dongguan.
"This course ranks among the top three on the CLPG Tour in terms of challenge. If you can execute your intended shots you can score well, but even a small mistake or wind factor can lead to big swings on your scorecard. I have an early tee time tomorrow so I'll adjust based on the weather and wind. But my overall strategy will remain the same.
Pimnipa, playing in her third season on the CLPG Tour, opened with a birdie at the 365-yard first hole and never looked back in her early-morning round. After birdies at the sixth and ninth holes to make the turn at three-under 33, she picked up further strokes at the 11th and 16th.
"Today I feel like I hit my tee shots really well. My irons were pretty decent and my putting is really good," said the 28-year-old from Nakhon Sawan, who played college golf at Kent State University in Ohio.
"I'm just trying to focus on the shot, trying to design what I want to play, and just stick with the process. I'll stay focused (tomorrow) and try to keep the ball on the fairway as much as I can and just keep doing the same thing."
Kultida, a 24-year-old from Pathum Thani, started strongly with three straight birdies. After carding her only bogey of the day at the par-five fourth hole, she bounced back with birdies on the 12th and 17th, both par-threes on the back nine, to stay in contention for her first professional title.
"I hit my irons very well today, and my putting was also solid. I made birdies on all three par-thre holes, thanks to accurate iron shots that left me with putts of about five feet each. I'm very satisfied with my performance today. I hope to keep this form and stay patient over the next two rounds." ■
