Chun-Wei Wu (Royal and Ancient Photo)
The New Zealand Queen Sirikit Cup side is off to a solid start at the 44th edition of the tournament at Clearwater Golf Club, trailing Chinese Taipei, who were led by
Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific champion
Chun-Wei Wu.
Conditions were icy to begin the tournament this morning, delaying play by half an hour due to frost. Scoring was tricky during the opening round as not a single player carded an even-par round or better, with three players sharing the individual lead with 1-over 73s.
The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific champion was one of the three who carded 73, leading Chinese Taipei to a three-over-total, three shots clear of the host nation and the pre-tournament favorites, Korea. Australia and Japan sit a further shot behind, with India in solo sixth at 6-over.
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Wu, who is ranked No. 153 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Rankings, leads the way alongside Japan’s Aina Fujimoto and India’s Zara Anand, ahead of a group of four players on two-over. She says her round in the harsh conditions was one of her better ones, albeit of her tough finish, where she finished with a couple of bogeys.
“The front nine wasn’t too bad, but I’m not happy with my score on the back nine. I made two silly bogeys on the eighth and ninth holes to finish my round.
“I thought I handled the conditions nicely. My short game from 70 to 80 yards was really good, but my longer shots weren’t as good.”
Wu was supported by her teammate Ping-Hua Hsieh, who carded the leading nation’s second counting score 74, while Hsin Chun Liao carded the non-counting round of three-over-75 to share eighth individually.
Among the four players sharing fourth place was last week’s New Zealand Stroke Play champion Eunseo Choi, who helped the Kiwis into a share of second.
Choi had her ball on a string to start her round, flying to the top of the leaderboard after a couple of birdies and bogeys through nine holes in the brutal north easterly gusts. Following six solid pars on her closing nine, she birdied the 16th to be the only player under par but finished with a double on 17 and a bogey on 18 to fall a stroke behind.
Despite the tough finish, Choi says she remains confident she can help the Kiwis to a historic win this week.
“Today’s wind favored the course layout compared to an opposite north-westerly wind. As long as I understand where I need to position my ball and have smart targets, today’s finish isn’t a big deal.
“The biggest advantage for me is that it was pretty windy at Paraparaumu last week. It wasn’t as windy as what it was today, but having experienced a bit of wind last week has made me feel confident this week, and I think I’ll do well over the rest of the week.”
Playing in her third Queen Sirikit Cup, Choi is no stranger to wearing the silver fern. However, she says this time feels a little more special given she’s wearing it in front of New Zealand supporters.
“I felt proud wearing the silver fern. It’s a little different playing as part of a team. There is a bit more pressure and excitement as I really want to do well. It hypes you up throughout the round – it feels great knowing that the team is supporting you.”
ABOUT THE Queen Sirikit Cup
Also known as the Amateur Ladies Asia-Pacific
Invitational Team Championship. Teams of 3 players
representing 15 different countries play 72 holes of
stroke play competition.
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