Charley Hull just two off the lead at LPGA Taiwan Championship

Charley Hull defied blustery conditions to fire an excellent four-under 68 which left her just two off the lead after the first round of the LPGA Taiwan Championship.

Hull shares third along with Solheim Cup team-mate Sandra Gal as Ji Eun-hee set the early pace after chipping in twice for birdies in a 66 - matching her best round of the season.

Teenager Hull started at the 10th and made early birdies at 11 and 12 before another at the 17th took her to the turn in 33, and he rolled in another putt for a three at the fourth to get to four under.

She blotted her card at the short seventh, but Hull clawed the shot straight back at the next and a closing par capped a fine day's work for the 19-year-old, who is still looking for her first win of the year.

South Korea's Ji also started on the back nine and was just one under with seven to play before she birdied the third and then reeled off four in a row from the fifth to race to the top of the leaderboard.

Ji needed only 23 putts over 18 holes, and she said: "I was just patient with the winds and I was calm with my putting. I just looked at the line and hit it. I was working on my short game last week and the week before, because my chipping wasn't feeling good.

"So I was working a lot this week and I just chipped in twice today and I think I worked on a lot of right things."

Ji leads by one over China's Lin Xi Yu, who had six birdies and one bogey in her 67, while Gal and Hull were joined in a share of third by Morgan Pressel and Yoo Sun-young.

World No 2 Lydia Ko is a further stroke adrift after opening with a four-birdie 69, but home favourite and former world No 1 Yani Tseng double-bogeyed the ninth to slip to one over, although she birdied the last to salvage a 72.

However, Stacy Lewis has her work cut out to make the weekend after she dropped four shots in five holes from the 11th and failed to make a birdie all day as she struggled to a 77 - her worst round of the year.