Staff WriterIf you were looking for an early-season sign that the Tournament of Champions might be served with a side of low numbers and big personality, Nasa Hataoka kindly provided it—wrapping Thursday’s opening round in a tidy 66 that featured seven birdies, one bogey, and the sort of putting total (25) that makes everyone else check their grips and life choices.
Hataoka’s -6 lead didn’t come from one of those “found it on the range five minutes ago” miracles, either. It was the full, composed version: 12 of 14 fairways hit, 13 of 18 greens found, and a putter that needed fewer strokes than anyone else in the field.
For context, it’s also her lowest round to start a season since she opened with a 66 at the 2020 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions—and, better still for the statisticians, it’s now her career-lowest opening round to begin an LPGA Tour season.
Behind her, the Tournament of Champions scoreboard is already looking like a crowded lift. Four players—Linn Grant, Jeeno Thitikul, Chanettee Wannasaen and Lottie Woad—share second at -5 after matching 67s, each with their own flavour of Thursday efficiency.
Hataoka’s 66: fairways, greens, and a putter on fast-forward
Hataoka is making her first start of the 2026 season and her fifth appearance at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, where her best finish is T2 (2020). She’s also a Hilton Grand Vacations ambassador, a seven-time LPGA Tour winner (including one victory in 2025), and currently sits Rolex Rankings No. 17—which is the polite way of saying this isn’t a random hot lap.
And if anyone needed reminding that Japan’s wave on the LPGA isn’t a trend so much as a movement, Hataoka smiled through the generational shift in her post-round remarks:
Nasa Hataoka (1st, -6) on the success of young Japanese players
“Yeah, when I came on this Tour I was the youngest Japanese player and only five or six player, but right now 15 Japanese player, so and then I’m oldest now. (Smiling.) So, yeah, I’m trying to win still.”
The chase pack at -5: four different routes to the same number
Linn Grant: a 67 built on patience (and a clean back nine)
Grant mixed six birdies with one bogey and finished bogey-free on the back nine. The ball-striking looked sturdy—14 of 18 greens, nine of 14 fairways—and 27 putts kept the momentum flowing. Her 67 ties her lowest 18-hole score to start a season.
Jeeno Thitikul: “not ready-ready,” still lethal
Thitikul also posted six birdies and one bogey, hit 12 of 14 fairways, and led the “green-hunters” by finding 15 of 18 greens in regulation (tied for most in the field). It’s her lowest season-opening 18-hole score since the 2023 Honda LPGA Thailand—and notably, it’s her first start at this event.
Thitikul’s honesty was as sharp as her iron play:
Jeeno Thitikul (T2, -5) on her performance coming into the week
“I don’t really like I’m ready-ready. I don’t feel like I’m ready to play that much. I mean, like if you ask me 100% like out of 100 I would say 60, 70 to go out and play because I don’t have enough practice. I do have some swing, figure things to do, so…”
Chanettee Wannasaen: a new personal benchmark
Wannasaen recorded her first round in the 60s at this event—after a previous best of 71 (2024)—and, even more telling, it’s the first time in her career she’s begun a season with a score in the 60s. She tied for most birdies in the field with seven and paired it with 26 putts (tied second-fewest).
Lottie Woad: first start, immediate impact
Woad is making her first start at the event and looked like she’d been here for years. She went bogey-free on the front nine with four birdies, finished with six birdies and one bogey, and hit 15 greens in regulation.
Her goals for 2026 are refreshingly practical—less crystal ball, more toolbox:
Lottie Woad (T2, -5) on her goals for the year
“Yeah, I try and stay away from outcome goals. Everyone wants to win as many tournaments as possible. That’s pretty obvious. I like to look at my stats and see what I can improve on in those. Like I’m trying to improve my scrambling a little bit, which was good today. Just trying to keep on tidying up inside 50.”
Defending champ A Lim Kim opens with 69 and keeps her event streak rolling
The defending champion A Lim Kim signed for 3-under 69 with five birdies and two bogeys. More quietly impressive: she’s now recorded five straight rounds in the 60s at this event, a neat little reminder that some venues bring out a player’s best habits.
Celebrity competition: Mardy Fish leads on points
In the Modified Stableford celebrity portion, Mardy Fish set the early pace with 39 points, carding five birdies against two bogeys. He’s no cameo, either—Fish is a two-time winner of this event (2021, 2023), and he’s already positioned himself as the man to catch in the points race.
A note for the record books
If the Tournament of Champions turns into a full-blown birdie festival, history has a high bar:
- 18 holes: 60, Jessica Korda (R3, 2021)
- 36 holes: 129, Danielle Kang (2021)
- 54 holes: 192, Danielle Kang (2021)
- 72 holes: 260, Jessica Korda (2021) and Danielle Kang (2021)
Nelly Korda on Austin Ernst’s return: the reunion tour feels real
Among those near the top, Nelly Korda opened at T6 (-4) and offered a warm, human snapshot of the week’s atmosphere—particularly the return of Austin Ernst after three years away:
Nelly Korda (T6, -4) on Austin Ernst return
“It was great. I went to dinner with her on Monday. It’s so funny because she hasn’t been on Tour in three years and she’s like, I’m back, and I’m back at the Tournament of Champions. But it’s really nice just to kind of see the old faces, the people that you used to hang out with, and to catch up on life.
She is in a different part of her life with a baby sure Charlie, but it’s so exciting to hear the milestones for her. Yeah, it’s been fun to hang out with her this week again. Hopefully more times this year, but you never know.”
