Coming off a disappointing week representing Korea at the International Crown, Hye Jin Choi leads by one stroke after the first round in Malaysia.
Choi started fast in the opening round, with a birdie on the first hole and an eagle on three. She added two more birdies on the front to get to -5 for the front nine. On the back, she added three more birdies without a bogey to finish at -8 64 for the day.
Predictably, Choi was consistent in every facet of the game. She hit 12/14 fairways and 14 greens in regulation. Once she was on the greens, Choi was fantastic, needing only 24 putts to finish the 18.
None of this should be much of a surprise, Choi ranks No. 6 in strokes gained, total for the year. She is ranked top 25 in strokes gained tee-to-green and No. 12 in strokes gained putting.
Choi has been pretty phenomenal in general in 2025, ranking No. 11 in the CME Standings. She has made 19/21 cuts with eight top-10 finishes. She also has five more top-15 finishes on the season.
Many would probably consider Choi the best player in the world who has not yet won on the LPGA Tour. In her four full years on the Tour, she has 28 top-10 finishes and has finished in the top 20 of the final CME Standings twice. She has been close a few times this year, most notably at the Meijer LPGA Classic, where she had a chance to win on the last few holes, but fell to Carlota Ciganda.
Right behind Choi are Gemma Dryburgh and Benedetta Moresco at -7.
The second round of the Maybank Championship kicks off tonight on Golf Channel.
