Yan Liu and Ashleigh Buhai Share First-Round Lead in LA Championship

LOS ANGELES — Yan Liu birdied the final three holes in chilly conditions Thursday afternoon for a 9-under 63 and a share of the first-round lead with Ashleigh Buhai in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship.

With the temperature barely reaching 60 degrees at El Caballero Country Club, Liu overcame an opening bogey to play the next nine in 7 under, making a 6-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th and securing five birdies during her round.

“I got bogey and next hole I tell myself, ‘You have to be calm and you have to be confident and be brave. You can do it,’” Liu said. “Yeah, just talk with myself.”

After making five consecutive pars, she birdied the par-5 seventh and produced short birdie putts on Nos. 8 and 9. Liu, 27, is in pursuit of her first LPGA Tour victory and recorded the lowest score of her career on tour.

“Everything perfect, but not my driver,” Liu remarked. “But just little things. Right now my driver is a little too much fade, but I will figure out tomorrow.”

Buhai, a 35-year-old South African, also had an impressive round, carding nine birdies in her bogey-free morning stint. The former winner of the AIG Women’s Open in 2022 cited the manageable pin placements as a factor in her performance.

“The pins were in locations we could access them today as long as you use the slopes correctly,” Buhai stated. “If you hit it into the right bowls you’ll get good results. Otherwise, you can short side yourself very easily.”

Frida Kinhult closed her round with birdies on the last three holes for a 64, playing in the second-to-last group of the day.

This year’s tournament is being held at El Caballero Country Club due to renovations at Wilshire Country Club, where the event is expected to return next season.

Madelene Sagstrom, who recently won the T-Mobile Match Play in Las Vegas, finished her round with a hole-in-one, joining In Gee Chun, Miranda Wang, Jeongeun Lee6, and Jenny Shin with a score of 65. The ace on the 120-yard ninth was Sagstrom’s first in competition and the only one recorded on tour this season.

“It’s weird because I actually got to see it,” Sagstrom said. “That’s the best part. You get to see it go in.”

Sei Young Kim finished at 66, tied with Lauren Coughlin, Aditi Ashok, Akie Iwai, Saki Baba, and Yu Liu.

Top-ranked Nelly Korda opened with a 67 in her final start before defending her title at next week’s Chevron Championship in Houston.

“Hit 18 out of 18 greens, so my bogeys were three-putts, which I made one on the last hole, so I am not feeling too great about that,” Korda explained. “But other than that, I played really solid off the tee and into the greens.”

Four of the top five players in the world rankings participated in this event during the final leg of the West Coast swing. Second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul responded to a late double bogey with an eagle for a 68 in the afternoon, while No. 4 Lilia Vu and No. 5 Green each shot 69. No. 3 Lydia Ko did not compete.

California teenager Asterisk Talley, who received a sponsor exemption, shot a 69. Talley was the runner-up at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and finished second at El Caballero in the U.S. Girls Junior last year.