After one round at the Honda LPGA Thailand Japanese rookie Akie Iwai leads, but will have a tall order holding off the superstars chasing.
Iwai isn’t new to the spotlight, as she has been a fixture in LPGA majors recently while playing on the JLPGA Tour. She actually had top-10 finishes in both the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the AIG Women’s Open in 2024.
In the opening round this week, Iwai shot a first round record -10 62 to take a three-stroke lead. Iwai birdied her first four holes on her way to -7 on the front nine. She hit 13/14 fairways for the day and 16 greens while only needing 26 putts.
Swedish star Maja Stark is her closest contender at -7. While Stark had an early bogey, she recovered well putting together an otherwise clean card, that included an eagle on the par 5 seventh hole. Like Iwai, Stark’s ball striking was on full display, hitting 13 fairways and 15 greens for the day.
Stark, a two-time Solheim Cup participant, is still looking for her second LPGA Tour title after a career that saw her win six times in three years on the Ladies European Tour.
Moriya Jutanugarn, in her home country, performed well in the opening round as well shooting -6.
Jin Young Ko, who has finished top five in each of the previous two events, struggled at the end of her front nine, with bogeys on eight and nine, but recovered well to shoot -5 through a terrific day on the greens. She is in a tie with Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Angel Yin at the moment.
The second round of the Honda LPGA Thailand kicks off again tonight.
