Korea’s Minsol Kim made a great start towards making it a Korean double in two weeks in Singapore when she grabbed the opening honours at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship, taking a one-shot lead with a five-under-par 67 round on Thursday.
At Singapore Island Country Club, Kim, ranked 14th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR), made five birdies, while an early eagle on the 4th hole was negated by a late double bogey on the par-4 16th.
Inspired Kim
Last week, Jin Young Ko – Kim’s mentor, idol and roommate during the national team’s winter training in Vietnam earlier this year – won the HSBC Women’s Championship title on LPGA Tour in the Island Nation. Kim revealed she joked with the world number three professional that she’d attempt to win the WAAP title.
One shot behind Kim, at four-under-par 68, were Zixin Ni of China, Navaporn Soontreeyapas of Thailand and Sophie Han of Hong Kong, China. Japan’s Sayaka Teraoka was joined in fifth position at three-under 69 by Eila Galitsky of Thailand and Wai Chung Virginie Ding of Hong Kong, China.
China’s Yujie Liu, the youngest player in the championship at 12-years-old, was also the only player to have completed her round without a bogey, shooting a two-under-par 70 to finish in tied eighth place.