Staff WriterIt was a day when putters caught fire, irons behaved themselves, and the leaderboard at the Buick LPGA Shanghai looked like it had been shaken up by a bartender with a grudge.
Leading the charge was Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who tore through Qizhong Garden Golf Club with a bogey-free 64 to take command of the first round.
The Buick LPGA always promises fireworks, but Yubol lit the fuse early. She birdied her opening three holes, then sprinkled in three more on the back nine (Nos. 14, 16, and 17) for good measure.
She was clinical: 11 of 14 fairways hit, 17 of 18 greens in regulation, and just 28 putts. For those counting, that’s the golfing equivalent of cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, and still having time to iron your socks.
“So for me, today I think — so for the score I think my putter is work today and then my short game, some hole I hit like close to make chance to make birdie,” Yubol said after the round.
“This week like I try to trust myself more for my iron… and then just keep going. And then it’s work. It’s feel good. And then I feel like any confident is many coming back.”
That confidence has been a long time coming. The Rolex No. 139 is still hunting her first LPGA Tour win, but nine Thai LPGA titles and one Taiwan LPGA trophy suggest she knows her way around a Sunday leaderboard. This is her third crack at the Buick LPGA Shanghai, and after finishing ninth last year, she looks intent on climbing even higher.
The Chasers
Five players sit one shot back at seven under: Jenny Bae, Jenny Shin, Minjee Lee, Jeeno Thitikul, and rookie Ina Yoon.
Bae, a rookie making her Buick LPGA debut, turned in a career-low 65. Shin, who hasn’t seen Shanghai since 2019, needed just 25 putts to match it. Minjee Lee—one of only seven players to have played every edition of this event—looked liberated with her broomstick putter.
“Yeah, I think I just don’t have as much pressure with it,” Lee said. “Obviously it’s freed me up a lot and gives me a lot freedom to stroke the putt.”
Then there’s Jeeno Thitikul, the world No. 1, who started with two bogeys and still managed to reel off 10 birdies. “I think it’s just like tell us about how the Tour has been going, and then how the field has been so tough right now,” she said of the LPGA’s remarkable 26 different winners this season. “It’s not just like a small world anymore. It’s a bigger world where everywhere you are and any nationality you are, you can win on LPGA Tour.”
Meanwhile, rookie Ina Yoon eagled, birdied, and bogeyed her way to a 65 that looked more like a roller coaster than a scorecard.
Other Notables
Defending champion Ruoning Yin struggled with a 71, shrugging off her slow start. “Well, I mean, like I say earlier, I wish I could shoot like a couple more less, but I mean, it’s my first day back to the office,” she admitted.
And let’s not forget amateur Menghan Li, who stole the spotlight for a moment with an ace at the par-3 11th. That marked the 16th hole-in-one on Tour this year, proving once again that amateurs often do the impossible while the pros settle for birdie.
A Long Way to Go
Yubol may be leading the Buick LPGA Shanghai, but history says it won’t come easy. Last year’s winning score was a blistering 21 under by Yin, and tournament records include a 62 from Hye-Jin Choi and Sei Young Kim. In other words, the birdie barrage has only just begun.
Still, Yubol’s 64 is her lowest round of the year and a reminder that even those outside the world’s top 100 can make headlines when confidence finally clicks. With a crowded leaderboard and Shanghai’s fickle breezes waiting to play tricks, round two should be every bit as volatile.
One thing’s for sure: the Buick LPGA has already lived up to its reputation. And if day one was any indication, you might want to keep the defibrillator handy.
