Jin Joo Hong leads LPGA Thailand

after arriving month early!

South Korean Jin Joo Hong of South Korea was the surprise first-round leader today after she returned a six-under-par 66 in the first round of the LPGA Thailand tournament at Siam Country Club, Chonburi.
All the world’s top 10 players are in the field but it was Jin Joo Hong who made an eagle and six birdies against two bogeys to open a two-stroke lead over Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson and four Americans: Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford, Kristy McPherson and Brittany Lang.
“My putting was really good. It really saved me,” said the 25-year-old South Korean.
“I had some really bad drives but I was able to catch up with my great putting. I came to Thailand a month in advance and practised with my coach for a month. I felt really good coming into this tournament because I have a lot of confidence in my game.”
World No 1 Lorena Ochoa struggled on the firm, fast greens and had a 71, along with nine other players, including former No. 1 Karrie Webb of Australia.
Paula Creamer, ranked No 3, made a late charge with birdies on three of the final five holes.
“The greens are so fast and the pin positions are very difficult to get to,” Creamer said. “I hit just 11 greens but I was chipping and putting well. I was third here the last time and this time I will try to win. It was a good start but there are three more days.”
Stanford, who along with Hong had an eagle on the 11th hole, showed the form that saw her win in Hawaii ahead of Michelle Wie two weeks ago.“It’s been a wild ride. I had so much fun hitting the ball. I didn’t look at the result. I was rolling the ball well,” Stanford said. “My confidence is high. I’m not worried what surrounded me. My caddie made me play one shot at a time.”
McPherson was another player who said her low score did not reflect the difficulty of both the course and the tropical heat.“The greens are firm. It’s tough here. I did well on course management,” McPherson said. “The scores were a lot lower than they should be.”
FIRST ROUND LEADERS
Par 72. 6477yd.
1. Jin Joo Hong 66
2. Kristy McPherson 68
2. Angela Stanford 68
2. Paula Creamer 68
2. Helen Alfredsson 68
2. Brittany Lang 68
7. Nicole Castrale 69
8. Sophie Gustafson 70
8. Hee-Won Han 70
8. Yani Tseng 70
8. Morgan Pressel 70
12. Juli Inkster 71
12. In-Kyung Kim 71
12. Mi Hyun Kim 71
12. Leta Lindley 71
12. Young Kim 71
12. Natalie Gulbis 71
12. Lorena Ochoa 71
12. Karrie Webb 71
12. Ai Miyazato 71
21. Christina Kim 72
21. Karen Stupples (Eng) 72
21. Teresa Lu 72
21. Jane Park 72
21. Seon Hwa Lee 72
26. Minea Blomqvist 73
26. Mika Miyazato 73
26. Inbee Park 73
26. Se Ri Pak 73
26. Candie Kung 73
26. Na Yeon Choi 73
26. Eun-Hee Ji 73
26. Jee Young Lee 73
26. Ashleigh Simon 73
26. Allison Fouch 73
26. Katherine Hull 73
26. Laura Diaz 73
26. a-Moriya Jutanugarn 73
39. Giulia Sergas 74
39. Cristie Kerr 74
39. Ji Young Oh 74
39. Sun Young Yoo 74
39. Lindsey Wright 74
39. Meena Lee 74
39. Melissa Reid (Eng) 74
39. a-Thidapa Suwannapura 74
47. Louise Friberg 75
47. Shiho Oyama 75
47. Stacy Prammanasudh 75
47. Jiyai Shin 75
51. Song-Hee Kim 76
51. Angela Park 76
51. Carin Koch 76
51. Laura Davies (Eng) 76
51. Maria Verchenova 76
51. Shanshan Feng 76
57. Russy Gulyanamitta 77
57. Suzann Pettersen 77
59. Jimin Kang 79
59. Hee Young Park 79