HONOLULU — Former US Women’s Open champion A Lim Kim opened with an eagle and piled up the birdies on her way to a 6-under 66 on Wednesday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Lotte Championship.
It was a great start on several levels for Kim, whose only remaining LPGA title is the 2020 Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club which was played in December due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is number 65 in the race to the CME Globe, and is just two tournaments away from breaking into the top 60 and earning a spot in the season finale that pays $4 million to the winner.
“It’s a good start today, so I think it’s a fun day,” he said.
So many others in the background are also at great risk. The top 100 players after next week’s tournament in Florida have secured the full 2025 cards. Among those with 67 was Bianca Pagdanganan, who started the week at No. 107.
He tied for the lead until late bogeys and birdied the 5th 18th at Hoakalei Country Club. Pagdanganan avoided the cloudy afternoon conditions on Oahu that prevented anyone from catching Kim.
“I used every birdie putt I had, I gave myself a lot of chances,” Pagdanganan said. “But at the same time, he was able to play smart out there. And, with the conditions, it’s easy to get impatient.”
Also with 67s were Ruixin Liu, Polly Mack and Perrine Delacour, all of whom were high stakes trying to finish in the top 60 at the CME Group Tour Championship or the top 100 to earn next year’s full card.
The wind was strong enough to disrupt a few good rounds. Japan’s Yuri Yoshida is 132nd in points. He was tied for the lead with six birdies and had no bogeys on his card until he made two bogeys on the back nine and failed to make birdies on the par 5s. He died at the age of 68.
The field has only two players from the top 10 in the world for women. One of them is Ayaka Furue, who is on the verge of winning the Vare Trophy with the lowest goal average. Furue, who won this year’s Evian Championship in his first major, had a 70.
He’s 70 and Jin Young Ko, another top-10 player, is trying to extend his streak of winning at least once on the LPGA Tour in the past seven years.
Also in the field is Honorine Nobuta Ferry, a 14-year-old who received a sponsor’s exemption for her LPGA debut. He grew up on Oahu and once attended the Lotte Championship. He was in Japan last week to watch the Toto Japan Classic, and now he is playing with them.
The junior, who now lives in the Dallas area so he can easily travel to junior tournaments, opened with 11 pars and shot a 74.
“I will never forget this round,” said Nobuta Ferry.
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