It’s unusual to see Americans jammed up at the top of the leaderboard in an LPGA event but that’s what you have after the first round of the Sime Darby championship in Kuala Lumpur.
The men visited Malaysia last week and the ladies are in the spotlight with Amy Yang taking center stage after opening with an eight-under par 63 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
“A lot of golf to play the next three days so just going to keep things simple,” said Yang, who has won twice on the LPGA Tour.
The surprise at the top was Marina Alex, an American in her fourth season on the LPGA Tour. She came up with seven birdies in the opening round for a 65 and found herself in solo second. She thanked her flat stick. “Anyone who shoots a low score is going to say they putted well,” said Alex, who is ranked 118th in the world.
Another surprise name among the leaders is Michelle Wie. Wie shot 67 along with fellow American Mo Martin. They were two of a half-dozen players in at five-under par.
In the race for the CME Globe, Ariya Jutanugarn has the edge over Lydia Ko and once again outplayed Ko in the opening round. Jutanugarn shot 68 and was tied for 12th while Ko could only managed to shoot even par 71 and was tied for 30th.
Defending champion Jessica Korda got off to a slow start with an even-par effort of 71.
