In-Kyung Kim on fire at the Honda LPGA Thailand
In-Kyung Kim of South Korea, has shot a blistering course-record equaling nine under par 63 to top the leader board in the first round of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) season opening Honda LPGA Thailand. Kim birdied nine times in the bogey
free first round to take an impressive lead of three strokes.
Kim started off with the birdie on the very first hole of the day which was par five and went on to level the course record set by Suzann Pettersen in 2007, Stacy Prammanasudh in 2009 and defending champion Ai Miyazato in 2010.
22-year-old Kim has become a strong candidate for winning the event held at the Slam Country Club. The current number seven in the world golf rankings, Kim, has won the LPGA Tour two times in her career. Her last victory was at the LPGA State Farm Classic
in June 2009. This round was also her career best round. Her previous best round was eight under par 64.
The second spot at the leader board is shared by Juli Inkster of the United States and world number one, Yani Tseng of Taiwaan. They scored six under par 66 for and tied second in the first round. Catriona Matthew of Scotland held the fourth position with
her five under par 67. Norwegian Suzann Pettersen shot four under par 68 for the fifth spot. Five players shared the sixth spot with three under par 69 including Michelle Wie of the United States. However, the defending champion, Japanese Ai Miyazato, was
unimpressive with a score of three over par 75.
The conditions were unfavorable for golf on the first day of the US $1.45 million event as it teed off shortly after heavy rain showers earlier this week. The players were allowed to take the preferred lies due to the damp conditions and wet surface of the
6,469 yard Siam Country Club.
Kim was quite happy with her first day performance. "I was really excited to come here in my first LPGA event of the season. I saw I was teeing off first today and thought that was kind of lucky I would get a little bit cooler weather than the other players”,
said Kim. She added, “I started with a birdie and kept making birdies somehow. I didn't think about what I was going to do, I just played every shot. My coach was caddying for me today and helped me a lot. We have been working on little changes, but the first
event of the season..., you never know. You're excited and you want to see what's going on."
Kim commented on her good start and hoped to continue through the tornament in the present form. If she does then observers expect her to win the event easily.
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