Kim Min-ju, who claimed her first KLPGA Tour victory last year, and Kim Sae-ro-mi, still seeking her first win on tour, share the lead after the opening round of the Aurora World Championship, which carries a purse of 1 billion won ($690,000).
Kim Min-ju carded a bogey-free 65, 7 under par, with seven birdies at Aurora Golf & Resort (par 72) in Wonju, Gangwon Province on Thursday. Kim Sae-ro-mi matched her at the top of the leaderboard with an equally clean card — one eagle and five birdies, no bogeys.
Kim Min-ju opened her account at the par-5 1st hole, where she stuck her second shot to within 4.3 meters and two-putted for birdie. She converted iron-play opportunities into birdies at the par-5 7th and par-4 9th, then added two more at the par-5 11th and par-5 13th. She kept the momentum going by draining a 5.6-meter birdie putt at the par-4 14th.
The round marked Kim's first serious title bid in one year and three months, since her iM Finance Open victory in April last year. "I needed to recharge mentally, so during my break I assembled Lego sets as a hobby — it was really healing," she said. "I missed the cut at this tournament last year, but I walked all 18 holes on Wednesday to check my target spots, and that paid off today."
Kim Sae-ro-mi got off to a flying start at the par-5 1st, where she placed her second shot just 0.5 meters from the cup for an eagle. She struggled to add strokes for a while before sinking a difficult 6.5-meter birdie putt at the par-3 8th. On the back nine, she reeled off three consecutive birdies from the par-4 10th through the par-3 12th to surge into contention — capping the run at the 12th with a 10-meter putt that found the bottom of the cup.
Kim Sae-ro-mi, who won twice on the Dream Tour in 2025 to earn her way back onto the KLPGA Tour, is also well known as one half of a twin professional golfer duo with Kim A-ro-mi. "I've been taking lessons from a new coach recently and I've rediscovered my swing feel," she said. "The rough on this course is long, so keeping the ball in the fairway seems crucial. I'll try to hold on to this good feeling through the remaining rounds."
Park Ye-ji and Hong Jin-young (born 2000) sit tied for third at 5 under par 67. Lee Ye-won and Lee Ji-hyun (born 1998) are tied for fifth at 4 under 68, while Heo Yun-seo, Choi Eun-woo, Ahn Ji-hyun, Park Bo-gyeom and Jeong Yun-ji are tied for seventh at 3 under 69.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
