Former LPGA campaigner Jennifer Rosales fired a three-under-par 69 Friday to trail the leaders by three shots after the first round of the inaugural World Ladies Championships in Mission Hills in Haikou, China.
The two-time LPGA Tour winner cushioned consecutive bogeys from the fifth hole with three birdies, including two straight from the 11th as she trailed co-leaders Feng Shanshan of China and
Diana Luna of Italy, who shot 66s.
Another Filipino, Dottie Ardina, had two birdies and the same number of bogeys on the back nine and salvaged a 73.
The ICTSI-sponsored Ardina also stood three strokes off Liu Yi-chen of Chinese Taipei in the amateur division of the three-in-one, 54-hole championships jointly sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and China LPGA Tour.
Ardina, priming up for her defense of the Queen Sirikit Cup next month, failed to get going with a slew of pars in the first eight holes, dropped a stroke at the par-5 No. 9 and then mixed birdies on Nos. 12 and 15 with bogeys on Nos. 14 and 16.
Rosales, coming off a joint eighth-place finish in last month’s Thailand Ladies Open, birdied two of the first four holes but reeled back with a pair of missed-green bogeys. She came back with a “gimme” birdie on No. 9, then added two more on Nos. 11 and 12. She flubbed a pair of makeable birdie putts coming home, though.
The pair of Rosales and Ardina stood in eighth spot in team play with a 142 total, way off the 134 pooled by China’s Feng and Li Yingye, who led Chinese Taipei’s Candie Kung (67) and Amy Hung (69) by two.
Feng rattled off seven birdies against a bogey for a 34-33 card at the par 38-34 Hainan’s Vintage course while Luna shot an eagle and seven birdies on nines of 36-30.