Saso shares first-round lead

Filipino-Japanese Yuka Saso hit four straight birdies in a torrid stretch of her back nine on Thursday to shoot a six-under-par 66 and forge a three-way tie for the lead with Tsugumi Miyazaki and Mayu Hamada after the rain-hit opening round of the Earth Mondahmin Cup at Camellia Hills Country Club in Chiba, Japan.

Saso, the 19-year-old rookie who won the Asian Games gold in 2018, was impressive in her third LPGA of Japan tournament, draining those birdies from No. 2—her 11th hole—to shoot to the top of the leaderboard.

Rumi Yoshiba, Seira Oki and Momoko Ueda trailed the leaders by a shot.