Christchurch, New Zealand: Bidding to end an 18-year victory drought, Wu Chun-wei inspired Chinese Taipei to the top of the leaderboard on the opening day of the 44th Queen Sirikit Cup.
Coping admirably with icy early morning conditions that delayed the start of play by 30 minutes, reigning Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) champion Wu posted a one-over-par 73 at Clearwater Golf Club.
With Hsieh Ping-hua contributing a 74, Chinese Taipei posted a first-round score of 147 in the Amateur Ladies Asia-Pacific Invitational Golf Team Championship in which the leading two daily scores in each three-strong line-up are counted.
Three shots off the pace in a share of second place are defending champions Korea and hosts New Zealand, for whom in-form Eunseo Choi led the way with a 74.
A further stroke back in equal fourth on 151 are Japan and Australia, followed by India (152), Thailand (154), Singapore and Indonesia (156), Hong Kong China (158), Malaysia (163) and the Philippines (173).
In the individual standings, Wu’s 73 was matched by Japan’s Aina Fujimoto and Indian Zara Anand.
When Chinese Taipei last won the Queen Sirikit Cup in 2006, in Australia, Wu was just 17 months old.
Then, a rising star by the name of Tseng Ya-ni was the catalyst for her country’s triumph. In the wake of her victory in the sixth WAAP in Thailand at the start of February, it’s now Wu who is the focus of attention.
Reflecting on her opening round, which began on the back nine, the 19-year-old said: “The front nine wasn’t too bad, but I’m not happy with my score on the back nine. I made two silly bogeys on the eighth and ninth holes to finish my round.
“I thought I handled the conditions nicely. My short game from 70 to 80 yards was really good, but my longer shots weren’t as good.
“This is a team event, so I want to make sure I’m doing my best for the team. I really like the team format, it’s more about your team-mates. I find I need to focus more in individual events, whereas I can rely a little more on my team in this format.”
Despite dropping three strokes on the final two holes of her round, Choi, fresh from her win in last week’s New Zealand Women’s Stroke Play Championship, remained in bullish mood.
Choi, who is hoping to lead New Zealand to their first Queen Sirikit Cup success since 1999 when the event was staged in the country, said: “Today’s wind favoured the course layout compared to an opposite north-westerly wind. As long as I understand where I need to position my ball and have smart targets, today’s finish isn’t a big deal.
“The biggest advantage for me is that it was pretty windy at Paraparaumu last week. It wasn’t as windy as it was today, but having experienced a bit of wind last week has made me feel confident this week and I think I’ll do well over the rest of the week."
Making her third Queen Sirikit Cup appearance for New Zealand, Choi added: “I felt proud wearing the silver fern. It’s a little different playing as part of a team. There is a bit more pressure and excitement as I really want to do well. It hypes you up throughout the round. It feels great knowing that the team is supporting you.”
Korea has won the championship on 22 occasions. Since 2007, Korea has triumphed 13 times out of 15, missing out only in 2013 and 2022.
On the opening day here, it was Kim Shi-hyun, 89th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking who outshone her higher-rated compatriots Oh Soo-min (23rd) and Lee Hyo-song (33rd).
While Kim carded a 74, Oh and Lee both returned 76s.
TEAM SCORES
147 – Chinese Taipei
150 – Korea; New Zealand
151 – Japan; Australia
152 – India
154 – Thailand
156 – Singapore; Indonesia
158 – Hong Kong China
163 – Malaysia
173 – Philippines
FULL INDIVIDUAL SCORES
73 – Wu Chun-wei (Chinese Taipei); Aina Fujimoto (Japan); Zara Anand (India)
74 – Kim Shi-hyun (Korea); Hsieh Ping-hua (Chinese Taipei); Eunseo Choi (New Zealand); Sarah Hammett (Australia)
75 – Pimpisa Rubrong (Thailand); Liao Hsin-chun (Chinese Taipei)
76 – Vivian Lu (New Zealand); Lee Hyo-song (Korea); Oh Soo-min (Korea); Aloysa Atienza (Singapore)
77 – Justice Bosio (Australia); Amy Im (New Zealand); Sania Talita Wahyudi (Indonesia); Sophie Han (Hong Kong, China)
78 – Caitlin Peirce (Australia); Saori Iijima (Japan)
79 – Kristina Natalia Yoko (Indonesia); Namo Luangnitikul (Thailand); Vidhatri Urs (India); Elaine Widjaja (Indonesia)
80 – Hailey Loh (Singapore); Mamika Shinchi (Japan); Jaymie Ng (Singapore)
81 – Jing Xuen Ng (Malaysia); Angel Yin Jia-yi (Hong Kong, China); Achiraya Sriwong (Thailand); Arianna Lau (Hong Kong, China)
82 – Sohniya Chandra Mohan (Malaysia)
85 – Heena Kang (India)
86 – Alethea Paige Gaccion (Philippines); Hee Jie Pang (Malaysia)
87 – Reese Allyson Ng (Philippines); Grace Pauline Quintanilla (Philippines)
