South Korean star Hyo-Joo Kim delighted the home fans on day one at the Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF – Korea as the Major winner fired a round of 68 (-4) to lead the Individual competition by one shot in Seoul.
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Teeing up as invitee in her ATS debut, Kim got off to a flyer birdying her first hole on the short par-4 10th. She would drop a shot on the par-3 15th before making a birdie before the turn at the par-5 17th.
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After seven straight pars, Kim finished hot eagling the par-5 8th thanks to a lovely hole out from 60 yards. She would follow this up with a birdie on the 9th for the 68 (-4) and clubhouse lead.
“I wish they had played the music a bit louder!,” Kim joked after playing her first round in the unique event. “But it was quite enjoyable. Also, it was the first time playing with four people in a match. I’m working on the things that I wanted to improve this year and I feel like it’s getting better and better.
“In the US I wasn’t happy with my putting. I had to keep working on alignment start line putting where I spent most of the time.”
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In second place sit India’s Pranavi Urs recent Ladies European Tour (LET) winner Mariajo Uribe. The Colombian, winner of the NSW Women’s Open, also had an enjoyable day carding four birdies en route to a 69 (-3).
Uribe said: “I love coming to Asia but it’s a tough course so you’ve got to take advantage of those birdie opportunities,” she said. “We’ll see how the weather is tomorrow. I think more birdies are going to come.
“I mean I love Seoul and this is my last year travelling the world [before I retire] so I’m taking advantage of it. My sister-in-law came with me so we’ve been buying a lot of Korean skincare and going around eating at all my favourite dumpling places and Korean BBQ.”
Fresh off her victory on the LET Access Series (LETAS), Sweden’s Anna Magnusson posted a round of 70 (-2) to take solo fourth position on day one.
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The 29-year-old said: “It’s quite a long course and I’m not a long hitter so it’s very long for me. I was hitting my driver a lot but I was hitting fairways which helps. I hit some good long irons into the green too. I just tried to stay in the moment. My putter was my best friend today.”
Four players share fifth spot on one-under par, a quarter which includes Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama, Slovenia’s Pia Babnik, Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson, and recent LET winner Manon De Roey from Belgium.
Over in the Team competition, Gustavsson’s squad of Scotland’s Laura Beveridge, England’s Gemma Clews, and amateur Jaeho Shin lead way after they combined wonderfully to post a score of 13-under par.
“We all holed our fair share of putts,” Beveridge said, who chipped in on the 8th hole. “There’s definitely some good team banter as well. From hole one. It was a bit of slow start as well. But we’ve got good chat and we’re all pals.”
 to lead the Individual competition by one shot in Seoul with Pranavi Urs T2.){kind=link}