SHIGA, Japan — Japanese players Ai Suzuki and Momoko Ueda each shot 7-under 65 to atop the first-round leaderboard at the LPGA Tour Toto Japan Classic on Thursday.
Two other Japanese players were shot, Ayaka Furey and Sakura Kowai. The tournament is being held at Seta Golf Club in Shiga, Japan.
Fury is last year’s champion and Suzuki won the race in 2019.
Another Japanese player, Miu Yamashita, was two strokes back after a 67.
Suzuki said she was struggling with her swing and hired a new swing coach, which didn’t work.
“Then I decided to play without a coach, and now I’m starting to go really well,” she said. “I feel like I can go 10-under today.”
Yuda also said that she has recently made adjustments.
“I changed shafts for my driver and co-driver,” Yuda said. “Normally I don’t change my intake very often, but this week it worked really well.”
Thailand’s Attaya Titikul, the LPGA’s new No. 1 player, shot a 71. She is only the second player under 20 to reach the No. 1 ranking. She will turn 20 next year on February 20.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko reached No. 1 in 2015 when she was just 17 years old.
Titikul said at the beginning of the week “to be number 1 in pressure”. “I don’t know how long I’ll be number 1 in the world – but at least it’s just this level.”
