Published July 17, 2008 on May 10, 2019

Du Mohan of China Grabs Lead of EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open

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China’s Du Mohan leads the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open by a single shot after round one at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The 17-year-old from Beijing shot five-under-par 67 on the Old Course, finishing with consecutive birdies on holes 17 and 18.

Speaking after her round, Du said: “I’m very excited – I feel I did very well today. I played spectacularly from tee to green. My putting went well and I grabbed some chances.

“It’s a great course. It’s very beautiful and has a long history. The greens are very fast and firm which is challenging. I’m a bit surprised – I got even-even [par] for the U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifier [on Sunday] and today my target was to play for par but I managed to control my emotions and stayed calm and went out and enjoyed it,” added Du.

She heads into the weekend of the US$ 150,000 tournament one shot clear of compatriot Zhang Wei Wei and Babe Liu of Chinese Taipei who are tied at four-under-par.

Nine players are tied for fourth place at three-under-par, with Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan a shot further back and three shots off the lead at two-under-par 70. Chan, who only arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday, having won the U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifier in Hawaii earlier in the week, said:

“It was fun, I started well but lost my focus a little bit around the eighth or ninth [holes], I think with the jet lag. So it was a little bit disappointing for my back nine to finish even-par but tomorrow I’m starting in the morning and I’ll work really hard on the first few holes which are the toughest and hopefully I can attack on the back nine.

“I’m pretty happy with two-under today with the time zone [difference] and think it will only get better over the next two days and hopefully go low tomorrow. There were a lot of spectators considering its only day one. Tomorrow I’d love to see as many spectators out on course as possible.”

Alongside Chan is fellow Hong Kong professional, Isabella Leung who also shot two-under-par 70. Said Leung: “I doubled the second and then I got kind of angry with myself so I decided to try my best to come back from that hole. I made a 25-foot birdie on hole 14 which I wasn’t expecting, so I’ll take that. It’s always an honour to be able to come here and play – I’m just going to try and play my best, go on the course and make as many birdies as possible.”

Malaysia is represented by four players this years namely Ainil Bakar, Michelle Koh, Dianne Luke and Aretha Pan.

Ainil Bakar currently leads the four-strong Malaysian contingent carding an even-par 72 leaving her four shots off the lead after round one.

Playing on a course she says she loves, the 29-year old from Selangor is feeling relaxed heading into the weekend: “I was very, very excited to get the birdie on 17. I played really well today. I think I missed two greens but I just couldn’t make any putts so it was good to finally make one on 17. The greens are running fast and I couldn’t quite get the greens right, but my second shots were good. I’m going to do my best over the next two days and we’ll just see from there.

A shot behind Bakar is Dianne Luke at one-over-par 73 and a further shot back at 2-over-par are Michelle Koh and Aretha Pan.

The EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open was inaugurated by Hong Kong Golf Club in 2015 to create a pathway for leading local players to compete on the international stage. The tournament is tri-sanctioned by the China LPGA Tour, the LPGA Tour of Taiwan and Ladies Asian Golf Tour, with support from the Hong Kong Golf Association and Hong Kong PGA.

The 123-player will compete for a share of the US$ 150,000 purse over 54 holes on the Old Course at Hong Kong Golf Club. With free access, popcorn and family activities to enjoy, the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open is a family outing not to be missed.