Mao Saigo of Japan looks at her shot on the 3rd fairway during the first round of the Maybank LPGA Championship golf tournament at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country club in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, October 24, 2024.
16:44 JST, October 24, 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — LPGA Tour rookie Mao Saigo birdied six of her first nine holes Thursday for a 9-under 63 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Maybank Championship.
South Korea’s Haeran Ryu was one stroke behind, while two others were tied for third place, two strokes behind the Japanese player from Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
“I made a lot of mid-range putts, that’s why I played so well,” Saigo said. “It requires so much powerful up and down playing, so it’s very difficult.”
Defending champion Celine Boutier has been one of the hottest players on the Asian swing, with back-to-back top-10 finishes in Shanghai (tied for ninth) two weeks ago and South Korea (second) last week. She shot 67 on Thursday and finished tied for 11th.
Boutier’s victory last year was anything but routine in the first year of the tournament. Boutier and Jeeno Thitikul tied for first place at 21 under par before playing a nine-hole play-off that the French player won. The playoff tied for the second-longest in LPGA Tour history.
Brooke Henderson shot 69 on Thursday. Hannah Green, who scored her third win of 2024 and sixth of her career last week in South Korea, had a 71. Lilia Vu shot 74.
