Park Ye-ji shares first-round lead at Jeju Samdasoo Masters

Park Ye-ji made a strong start in her bid for a first career victory.

Park carded a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 on Thursday, collecting six birdies in the opening round of the 13th Jeju Samdasoo Masters — a KLPGA Tour event with a purse of 1 billion won ($702,000) — at Teddy Valley Golf and Resort (par 72) in Seogwipo, Jeju.

Showing no signs of fatigue despite the sweltering heat, Park shared the top of the leaderboard with Seo Eo-jin and Shin Da-in. The first-round lead has proven elusive for Park this season: she has held it on multiple occasions only to fall short of the title. At the previous tournament, the Aurora World Championship, she led after the opening round but faded to a tie for 14th.

"It was physically tough with the heat and humidity, but I'm happy I was able to finish with a good score," Park said. "I feel that managing my condition over four rounds — and keeping a calm mind whether things are going well or not — matters more than any individual shot or putt."

Seo Gyo-rim, who has two wins this season, fired six birdies against one bogey for a 5-under 67 and sits in a tie for fourth, one stroke off the lead. The round gave Seo a chance to overtake Kim Min-sol, who leads both the season money list and player-of-the-year points standings; Seo trails Kim narrowly in both categories.

"My hands don't usually sweat much, but today I had to wipe the grip with a towel before every shot," Seo said. "My ball-striking was solid and the putts from four to five meters were dropping, so I was able to put up a good number."

Kim Min-sol, who played in the same group as Seo, struggled after returning from the AIG Women's British Open on the LPGA Tour, managing only two birdies while dropping four bogeys for a 2-over 74. "My swing balance was off and it was a tough round," Kim said. "My hands were sweating a lot and I had to change my glove frequently."

Defending champion Ko Ji-won, also grouped with Seo and Kim, fared even worse, shooting a 3-over 75 to drop toward the bottom of the field.