Kim Min-ju, Kim Sae-ro-mi share first-round lead at Aurora World Championship

Kim Min-ju fired a bogey-free 7-under-par round to share the first-round lead at the KLPGA Tour's Aurora World Championship on Thursday, returning from a two-week break in the tour schedule.

Playing at Aurora Golf & Resort's Mountain-Lake Course (par 72) in Wonju, Gangwon Province, Kim carded seven birdies without a bogey for a 65 to finish level with Kim Sae-ro-mi atop the leaderboard. The result sets her up for a second career title, more than a year and three months after she claimed her first at the iM Financial Open in April last year.

Kim was particularly sharp on the par-5 holes, making birdie on all four. She opened with a birdie on the par-5 first after a 4.3-meter eagle opportunity, then added back-to-back birdies on holes 7 and 9 to reach the turn 3 under. On the back nine, she converted birdie putts of 2.8 meters on the 11th and 2.1 meters on the 13th — both par 5s — before closing out with birdies on holes 14 and 16.

"There were no major crises throughout the round today," Kim said after her round. "My tee shots and iron play were steady overall, and the putts were dropping, so I was able to keep the good momentum going all the way to the end."

"Last year I packed my bags and went home after two days," she added. "Usually during the official practice round I don't play all 18 holes to conserve energy, but Wednesday I walked the full 18 to check the green undulations and shot targets. I feel like I've properly made up for last year's disappointment."

Kim Sae-ro-mi, who won twice on the second-tier Dream Tour last year, also went bogey-free to join the lead, carding an eagle and five birdies for a 65. She made the eagle on the par-5 first hole, knocking her second shot — from the rough with more than 200 meters to the pin — to within 50 centimeters for a tap-in.

"I was so happy to make an eagle on the very first hole," Kim said. "My second shot was from the rough with over 200 meters left. I had a feeling the ball would roll up even if it landed in the bunker short of the green, so I went with a 5-wood — and as expected, it rolled up nicely for the eagle."

Hong Jin-young 2 sits in a share of third place alongside Park Ye-ji after posting a 5-under 67, with six birdies and one bogey. Lee Ye-won, back from a trip to Japan last week, carded a bogey-free 4-under 68 to share fifth with Lee Ji-hyeon 3. Lee Ye-won made four birdies without a dropped shot.

Seo Gyo-rim, who has stood out this season with two victories, opened with a 1-under 71 to sit in a share of 24th. She dropped two shots on the front nine — two birdies against four bogeys — but recovered with three birdies on the back nine.