Sakura Yokomine shoots five-under 67 to lead LPGA Tawain Championship
Thursday 6 October 2016 13:07, UK
Japan's Sakura Yokomine carded an opening-round five-under-par 67 to lead the LPGA Taiwan Championship in Taipei.
Yokomine, who added an eagle at the 12th to three back-nine birdies, had one shot to spare over Brooke Henderson, Paula Creamer and Amy Yang at the end of the day.
The 30-year-old is without a win in two seasons on the LPGA Tour after having previously chalked up 23 victories on her home tour.
Canadian teenager Henderson, ranked fourth in the world after winning the major KPMG Women's PGA in June and successfully defending her Cambia Portland Classic title the following month, birdied three of the final four holes to secure her place in the three-way tie for second.
Yokomine and Henderson are making their 26th starts of the year, tied with American Kim Kaufman for the tour lead.
Henderson plans to play all six weeks on the Asian Swing, a journey that started last week in China with a fourth-place tie, and will take her to South Korea, back to China and then to Malaysia and Japan.
Kaufman's compatriot Creamer put her bogey-free round down to a liking for the conditions, and an in-tune working relationship with caddie Colin Cann.
The Solheim Cup star, who won the last of her 10 LPGA Tour titles in Singapore in February 2014, said: "I've always played really well when it's windy and kind of tough.
"You have to think a lot out there. Colin and I worked really well as a team today. It's pretty windy in certain spots on this golf course and he did a good job of figuring that out for us."
Korean Yang looked on course to hold the clubhouse lead overnight when approaching the 14th hole two under par but bogeys at the next two holes forced her settle for a share of second spot.
Korean duo Ha Na Jang and Hee Young Park, lie a further shot back alongside Japan's Ai Miyazato, Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa and Spaniard Beatriz Recari.
Defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who won by nine shots at Miramar last year, double-bogeyed the par-four fifth on the way to a two-under-par 70.
