WEIHAI, China, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Na Hee-won and Kim Bo-ah set the early pace at the Asiana Airlines Open on Friday as the South Korean veterans each opened with a two-under 69 to share a one stroke lead.
Playing in intermittent windy conditions at the Weihai Point Golf Resort, the South Koreans dominated the first round leaderboard by occupying the top 13 positions at the tournament co-organized by the China LPGA and LPGA of Korea Tours.
Cho Ayean was third on 70, while Kim Hye-rym, Kim Min-sun, Lee Ji-hyun, Park Chae-yoon and Cho Jeong-min were a stroke further back in equal fourth at two strokes off the pace.
Sui Xiang was the top Chinese player as the Guangdong native opened with two-over 73 to sit equal 14th in a group of six players.
Zhang Weiwei, the CLPGA Tour Order of Merit leader, was a shot further back on 74 in a group that included her Chinese compatriots Zhang Yunjie and Liu Wenbo, as well as Choi Hye-jin, the South Korean teenager who currently leads the KLPGA money list.
Na Hee-won, who holds duel membership on the CLPGA and KLPGA Tours, started on the Weihai Point back nine. She picked up her first birdie when she made a 35-foot putt at the 125-yard 17th hole (her eighth hole) to make the turn at one-under. The 25-year-old then carded consecutive birdies from the second hole (her 11th hole) before dropping her only stroke at the 330-yard ninth hole (her 18th hole).
"I know this golf course well from past experience. Obviously, the fairways are pretty narrow and tough. I had no expectations heading into this week and wanted to play one shot at a time. The past experience helped me to handle the wind well."
With an equal runner-up finish at the CTBC Ladies Open in March, Na got into the field this week on the strength of her CLPGA Tour Order of Merit ranking.
"I've had 15 starts on the KLPGA and CLPGA. The CLPGA starts definitely helped me to warm up before the start of the KLPGA season."
Kim, winner of last month's Lotte Cantana Women's Open in Jeju Island, carded three birdies over the first six holes. She then closed with two bogeys and another birdie on the back nine.
"The wind was very strong on the front nine. I am glad that I handled it well and made some good birdies. After the turn, the wind died down a little. On the contrary, I thought about too many things and made a couple of bad decisions," said the 24-year-old who is currently 10th on the KLPGA money list.
