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The Buick LPGA Shanghai returned on Thursday and Solheim Cup star Maja Stark shares the lead with Wichanee Meechai; the LPGA Tour is again in China for the primary time since 2019 as a result of Covid-19 pandemic; defending champion Danielle Kang is 2 photographs again
Final Up to date: 12/10/23 4:46pm
Maja Stark holds a share of the first-round lead in Shanghai
Maja Stark and Wichanee Meechai every shot rounds of six-under 66 to guide the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Thursday, marking the return of the match after a three-year hiatus as a result of pandemic.
Sitting two photographs again on the 6,672-yard Qizhong Backyard Golf Membership are 10 gamers at four-under 68. The group contains Danielle Kang, the defending champion following back-to-back wins in 2018 and 2019, and home-country favourites Yu Liu, Danlin Cai and Shuying Li.
For Stark and Thailand’s Meechai, Thursday supplied a brand new expertise. It’s the first time both has held a first-round lead in an LPGA Tour occasion, they usually bought there in several methods.
Stark scattered six birdies all through her bogey-free spherical. Meechai, making her debut within the match, began on the again 9 and was at even par by her first seven holes till the par-five seventeenth, which she eagled earlier than repeating the feat with one other eagle on the par-four 18th.
On the entrance aspect, Meechai, who’s looking for her first LPGA Tour win, blended 4 birdies and two bogeys. She has some expertise on the course from her three years on the Chinese language tour and stated Qizhong Backyard felt “like house”.
Stark, who represented Europe within the Solheim Cup in September, had her first bogey-free spherical since March in her first LPGA Tour occasion since she missed the lower on the Portland Basic in late August. She ended her spherical with 4 birdies in her closing eight holes.
Stark opened with a six-under 66 in Shanghai
“I feel it was wanted,” she stated of the day without work in her schedule. “I have not performed a traditional match in 5 weeks. I feel I have been eager for a break like that through the season, but it surely’s so onerous to present myself a break.
“It has been very nice to have the ability to refocus and actually suppose by what I’ve carried out through the 12 months and what occurred at Solheim, as a result of I felt like at Solheim I used to be a means totally different participant than I was.
“I moved on from stuff extra shortly. I managed to determine stuff out through the spherical generally. It felt like each putt was so vital so I simply tried to maintain that going and preserve that out right here and simply truly take into consideration what it is for and never simply, oh, that is for birdie. No, that is truly – this could possibly be the profitable putt. This could possibly be actually vital.”
Defending champion Kang, who birdied three of the primary eight holes, was content material together with her place heading into the second spherical.
“You simply need to have ball putting actually in play with wedges as a result of there may be a whole lot of difficult grass across the greens,” she stated. “My caddie actually helped me keep within the second. He is like, ‘It is solely Thursday. Cease trying on the leaderboard. We will find yourself the place you have to find yourself.”
World No 1 Lilia Vu shot even-par 72 to tie for thirty seventh. World No 2 Ruoning Yin of China is in a tie for twenty seventh after her spherical of 71.
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