Thai 19-year-old Atthaya Thitikul shot a blistering 9-under 63 to set the BMW Ladies Championship single-round scoring record and take the first-round lead Thursday in Wonju, South Korea.
Thitikul, who has won twice this year and rocketed to No. 2 in the world rankings, had seven birdies, an eagle and no bogeys at Oak Valley Country Club to establish a one-shot advantage over Korean amateur Minsol Kim (8-under 64).
“I’d say today is my day but every day (is) not your day,” Thitikul said. “Just happy with your day, your round. But tomorrow, it’s like the past and just what you have to do.”
Thitikul was already at 5 under when she stepped to the tee at the par-4 13th hole. She found the fairway and had just 102 yards left to the pin.
“I grabbed a 52 (degree wedge) in my hand, and my caddie just said leave it short of the hole, should be really easy,” Thitikul said of her eagle. “I’m kind of like, not really listen to him. Because like I think it’s short already to even have that much spin, and then just be aggressive to the pin.”
She had birdied the par-3 12th hole just before that and went on to birdie the par-4 14th and par-5 15th for a 5-under stretch in four holes.
Kim, 16, started her round on the back nine, where she finished in 2 under, before she birdied six of her final seven holes to shoot up to second place.
“I would have to say the birdie that was most memorable for me in this round was the (putt) I made at the third hole, No. 3,” she said. “It was a really downward slope and I actually practiced there on Tuesday, and so I was able to just really tap the ball and really control the speed of the ball to make the putts.”
Andrea Lee and South Korea’s Yaeeun Hong and A Lim Kim shot rounds of 6-under 66 to form a tie for third.
World No. 5 Lydia Ko of New Zealand posted a 4-under 68, tying her for sixth with Lilia Vu and Alison Lee.
World No. 1 Jin Young Ko of South Korea, who was playing with Thitikul, made her return to competition after taking time off to rest an injured wrist. But she shot an 8-over 80, her worst-ever LPGA round, and is tied for 76th out of 78 players.
“I don’t want to make any excuse with my wrist. I played hard but didn’t score as well as I wanted to,” Ko told a Korean news outlet. “Right now, my primary goal is to wrap up this tournament pain-free.”
–Field Level Media