LUNA AND FENG SHARE WORLD LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

NEWS RELEASE ISSUE BY THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER
Italian Diana Luna shares the lead with China’s Shanshan Feng after round one of the World Ladies Championship at Mission Hills Haikou in Southern China. Luna and Feng carded six under-par 66s on The Vintage Course on Friday to finish the day one shot clear of four other players: Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal, Ireland’s Rebecca Codd, Beth Allen of the United States and Candie Kung from Chinese Taipei.
Luna dropped shots at the third and fourth holes but the turning point came when she holed her second shot from 165 metres for eagle at the fifth using a rescue club.
She then picked up five birdies with a solitary bogey on the 14th hole.
“My start was very slow,” Luna said. “I had two bogeys at the first two par-5s, which was a little disappointing, of course, because I made 6 on a par five without any funny shots.
"A stupid 6: I missed one very short putt on the first par five and then I made a very bad chip at the second so two very stupid bogeys, but then I holed a rescue the hole after, so that put me back in play.”
Luna revealed that she was playing aggressively and almost made hole in ones at the 10th and 13th holes. “You always go for it, of course. I was playing well in Australia a few weeks ago and I finished second so I had very good scores as well. I’m in a good moment. I think I’m playing solid golf and I’m looking to be high in the leader board,” said the 29-year-old from Rome. China’s world number 12 Feng delighted the home crowd with seven birdies and just one dropped shot at the sixth in the co-sanctioned Ladies European Tour and China LPGA event. The 22-year-old from the city of Guangzhou said: “The course condition is much better than in the practice round. Distance isn’t a problem. I used the short irons to the greens. For par 5s, I need two or three shots to make the green which gives me good birdie opportunities.”
The Championship, being played over 54 holes of stroke play from Friday March 2 to Sunday March 4, features a unique three-in-one format with players competing as individuals as well as in teams. There are three categories - individual professionals, individual amateurs and professional teams.
Feng combined with Yiying Ye for a 10-under-par total to put China at the top of the team leaderboard, two strokes clear of the Chinese Taipei pair Candie Kung and Amy Hung.
Italian pair Luna and Giulia Sergas’ scores gave them an opening seven under par total for third position in the team event. Thai duo Pornanong Phatlum and Nontaya Srisawang are one shot back on six under alongside Swedish pair Linda Wessberg and Pernilla Lindberg, with England’s Melissa Reid and Florentyna Parker in sixth place on five under par.
In the individual amateur race, featuring eight young players, China’s Yi Chen Liu, 19, is leading on two under par 70, one shot ahead of 14-year-old New Zealander Lydia Ko. Liu was one of the first players out of the blocks in the more humid morning conditions while Ko played in a breeze during the afternoon.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Mission Hills Haikou, Hainan, China
The Vintage Course (par 72)
66 Shan Shan Feng (CHN), Diana Luna (ITA)
67 Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA), Beth Allen (US), Rebecca Codd (IRL), Candie Kung (TPE)
68 Carin Koch (SWE), Xi Yu Lin (CHN), Pornanong Phatlum (THA), Li Ying Ye (CHN)
69 Amy Hung (TPE), Florentyna Parker (ENG), Pernilla Lindberg (SWE), Linda Wessberg (SWE), Bree Arthur (AUS)
70 Jennifer Rosales (PHL), Marianne Skarpnord (NOR), Yue Xia Lu (CHN), Sophie Walker (ENG), Nontaya Srisawang (THA), Melissa Reid (ENG), Caroline Masson (GER), Yi Chen Liu (TPE), Ursula Wikstrom (FIN), Karen Lunn (AUS)
71 Line Vedel (DNK), Felicity Johnson (ENG), Caizhu Guo (CHN), Rebecca Flood (AUS), Lydia Ko (NZL) (am), Margherita Rigon (ITA), Lee-Anne Pace (SAF), Giulia Sergas (ITA), Pan Pan Yan (CHN)
72 Danielle Montgomery (ENG), Anja Monke (GER), Yan Hua Shen (CHN), Charlie Douglass (ENG), Amelia Lewis (US), Ashleigh Simon (SAF), Jing Yan (CHN), Cecilie Lundgreen (NOR), Stephanie Na (AUS), Yun Jye Wei (TPE), Liebelei Lawrence (LUX)
73 Lin Yan Shang (CHN), Xiao Zheng Ren (CHN), Gwladys Nocera (FRA), Tania Elosegui (ESP), Titiya Plucksataporn (THA), Dottie Ardina (PHL), Jaclyn Sweeney (US), Yu Yang Zhang (CHN), Connie Chen (SAF), Stacey Keating (AUS), Lydia Hall (WAL)
74 Nikki Garrett (AUS), Zuzana Kamasova (SVK), Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA), Hannah Jun (US), Ling Ling Tan (CHN)
75 Ana Larraneta (ESP), Marieke Nivard (NLD), Hong Mei Yang (CHN), Ping Huang (CHN), Mei Hao Huang (CHN), Kym Larratt (ENG), Kylie Walker (SCO), Jia Yun Li (CHN), Frances Bondad (AUS), Tao Li Yang (CHN), Carly Booth (SCO), Adriana Brent (AUS), Sahra Hassan (WAL), Yan Hong Pan (CHN), Becky Brewerton (WAL)
76 Qin Zhou (CHN), Bo-Mi Suh (SKOR), Charlotte Thomas (NZ) (am), Lucie Andre (FRA), Sophie Giquel-Bettan (FRA), Carmen Alonso (ESP), Xin Wang (CHN), Georgina Simpson (ENG), Clare Queen (SCO), Julie Tvede (DNK)
77 Yu Ting Shi (CHN), Xiao Long Zhong (CHN), Malene Jorgensen (DNK), Jin Xiang Zheng (CHN), Rachel Jennings (ENG)
78 Dan Li (CHN), Yun Yan Bai (CHN), Mei Ping Lu (CHN), Hong Tian (CHN), Wei Li (CHN)
79 Xin Xia (CHN), Jincui Yang (CHN), Wen Wen Wang (CHN), Louise Larsson (SWE), Klara Spilkova (HRV)
80 Jessica Ji (SKOR), Marjet Van Der Graaff (NLD), Sha Wu (CHN)
81 Laurette Maritz (SAF)
82 Xiao Hong Chen (CHN)
84 Lin Zhang (CHN)
85 Hong Lian Wu (CHN)
 TEAM SCORES
134 (-10): China (Shanshan Feng and Yiying Ye)
136 (-8): Chinese Taipei (Amy Hung and Candie Kung)
137 (-7): Italy (Diana Luna and Giulia Sergas)
138 (-6): Sweden (Pernilla Lindberg and Linda Wessberg), Thailand (Pornanong Phatlum and Nontaya Srisawang)
139 (-5): England (Melissa Reid and Florentyna Parker)
141 (-3): USA (Beth Allen and Hannah Jun)
142 (-2): Germany (Caroline Masson and Anja Monke), Norway (Marianne Skarpnord and Cecilie Lundgreen)
143 (-1): Philippines (Jennifer Rosales and Dottie Ardina), South Africa (Lee-Anne Pace and Ashleigh Simon)
148 (+4): China II (Yu Yang Zhang and Jia Yun Li), Wales (Becky Brewerton and Lydia Hall)
149 (+5): Australia (Nikki Garrett and Frances Bondad), Spain (Tania Elosegui and Carmen Alonso)
150 (+6): France (Virginie Lagoutte-Clement and Sophie Giquel-Bettan), Scotland (Kylie Walker and Carly Booth)
153 (+9): Denmark (Julie Tvede and Malene Jorgensen)
155 (+11): Netherlands (Marieke Nivard and Marjet Van der Graaff)
156 (+12): Korea (Bo-Mi Suh and Jessica Ji)