Sei Young Kim matched the tournament record with a 10-under opening round at the BMW Ladies Championship on Thursday in Haenam, South Korea.
The Korean star carded eight birdies and an eagle, hit 12 of 14 fairways and stuck 17 of 18 greens in regulation to finish with a 62 at Pine Beach Golf Links.
That matched the mark of 62 posted by Ashleigh Buhai in 2023 when it was played at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, South Korea.
After waiting out a one-hour weather delay, Kim bookended a brilliant round in front of friends and family with birdies at the first and 18th holes. She was 5-under from Nos. 6-9, including an eagle at the par-5 sixth.
“Yes, so this is near my hometown, so I have lots of family, my cousins, a lot of fans,” Kim said. “I had a great start from the first hole and all the way through 18th, getting a lot of support. The course is absolutely wonderful. The layout and the conditions of the course were great.”
Despite the sizzling start, the former Rolex Player of the Year is only one stroke ahead of compatriot Hyo Joo Kim. She was also bogey-free, recording seven birdies and a 130-yard hole-out for eagle at the par-4 seventh hole.
Hyo Joo Kim was one of seven players to hit every fairway and shared the low for the round with only 25 putts. It was her lowest score on the LPGA Tour since 2019.
Lindy Duncan is two shots off the pace in solo third place after an 8-under 64. She started on the back nine and put together two separate streaks of three consecutive birdies at Nos. 5-7 and Nos. 17, 18 and 1.
Duncan was one of four players to reach every green in regulation.
“I think 8-under might be my lowest on the LPGA,” Duncan said. “It was a really great day, bogey-free, had a lot of birdie chances and converted a lot of them.”
Tied for fourth at 7-under are Brooke Matthews, Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen and Japan’s Rio Takeda.
Defending champion Hannah Green of Australia eagled the 17th and finished with a 4-under 68, tied for 22nd with 10 others.
Lucy Li is part of that group at 4-under after making a hole-in-one with a 7-iron at the 13th hole.
“It was a good number into the wind. Hit it right at the pin,” Li said. “Thought it might end up a little short but it went in. I just started freaking out.”
–Field Level Media
