Hee Young Yang Shoots 4-Under... "Veteran Power"

Tied for 6th in Hilton Grand Vacations TOC Round 1
Hataoka Leads, Thitikul and Woad Share Second Place
Korda Tied for 6th, Kim A Lim in Pursuit at 8th

It was a refreshing start for veteran Hee Young Yang.

On January 29 (local time), at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club (par 72, 6,624 yards) in Orlando, Florida, Hee Young Yang carded a 4-under-par 68 to tie for 6th place in the first round of the LPGA Tour season opener, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions (TOC, total prize money of 2.1 million dollars).

Nasa Hataoka of Japan leads with a 6-under-par 66, while world No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul and Chanettee Wannasaen (both from Thailand), Lottie Woad (England), and Linn Grant (Sweden) are tied for second at 5-under-par 67.

Hee Young Yang made a refreshing start by tying for 6th place in the first round of the LPGA Tour season opener, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

This tournament, established in 2019, is a "champion of champions" event open only to winners from the past two years. This year, a record 39 players are competing, including six Korean golfers.

Hee Young Yang started on the 10th hole (par 4) and collected four birdies without a single bogey. She reduced her score by two strokes on the front nine with consecutive birdies on holes 13 and 14, then made par on the next 11 holes, and finished the round with back-to-back birdies on holes 8 and 9. She missed the fairway three times and the green four times. She is two shots behind the leader and has a chance to claim her seventh career victory since the major KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June 2024.

World No. 2 Nelly Korda of the United States also joined the group tied for 6th place. Lydia Ko of New Zealand is tied for 8th at 3-under-par 69, eyeing a come-from-behind victory. Among Korean players, defending champion Kim A Lim and Lee Somi are tied for 8th, while Hwang Yoomin, making her LPGA Tour debut this year, is tied for 16th at 1-under-par 71. Lim Jinhui is tied for 20th at even par 72, and Yoo Haeran is tied for 26th at 1-over-par 73.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.