No. 1 Park takes TCC lead

Park Sung-hyun gives local fans a taste at world-class golf.

World No. 1 Park Sung-hyun of South Korea drained three birdies in her first nine holes on Wednesday and went on to shoot a three-under-par 69 for a two-stroke lead over amateur Yuka Saso and two Taiwanese after the first round of the $100,000 The Country Club Ladies Invitational.

Playing her first tournament as the best woman golfer in the planet, Park showcased her greatness over the tough Laguna course to give local golf fans a first-time look at a world No. 1. Park, though, was also impressed with what she saw in prodigious Saso.

“She hits it a long way for an amateur,” said Park of Saso, the reigning Asian Games champion. “She has a bright future ahead of her.”

Park had a total of five birdies against two bogeys and promised an even lower score in Thursday’s second round.

“I know that the course is hard but I also know that I could do better in the second round,” she said.

Dottie Ardina, the third ace in the spotlight flight, struggled with the length of the layout and churned out a level 72 to stay in the hunt, a stroke behind Saso, Lin Chu-Tzi and Wu Hsiao-Ling, even as Sunshine Baraquiel, another Filipino amateur, fired a 72 like Korean Park Jin-hee.