Ko and Patty put Los Angeles disappointment behind them

After a forgettable week at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open that saw Patty Tavatanakit and Lydia Ko miss the cut, the duo left their baggage behind in California and got off to a good start at the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore yesterday.

Ko fired a three-under 69 to come in tied 14th, while Patty finished tied 22nd on two-under 70.

New Zealand's Ko, 24, said: "I didn't touch my golf clubs until I came here on Tuesday after I missed the cut last week. The first day (of last week's tournament) was a bit of a blah in every aspect.

"I felt like I was playing good golf and the second day proved that so I didn't stress too much about it and spent a good time away from the golf course and with my friends. I was excited to be back here and it's good to have a good round today because it washes last week's away."

Before the tournament in Los Angeles last week, both golfers had notched significant milestones.

Earlier this month, world No. 7 Ko ended a three-year title drought by winning the Lotte Championship, while Thailand's world No. 13 Patty bagged her first Major at the ANA Inspiration.

The latter, who is making her debut at the HSBC Women's World Championship, got off to a slow start yesterday with bogeys on the third and fourth holes, but improved and picked up four birdies over the remaining 14.

The 21-year-old said: "I'm pretty satisfied considering how jet-lagged I was this morning. I started pretty slow but hung in there and made some nice birdies coming in.

"For the first couple of holes, my body wasn't responding to what I was trying to do because I was pretty jet-lagged, but I just kept drinking water and eating and got my body back to normal."

While Ko and Patty were pleased with their first round, world No. 1 Ko Jin-young cut a disappointed figure after a one-under 71.

The South Korean, who was tied-28th, felt that she was not in the right frame of mind because of jet lag.

She said: "I didn't have a good round today. It was just hot and I lost the focus on my game. It was tough to play with the jet lag so I will rest after this and get back better tomorrow."

Her compatriot Park Sung-hyun, the defending champion, will be hoping to do the same after the world No. 19 recorded five bogeys and a double-bogey to end the first round dead last on six-over 78.

Top local player Amanda Tan's four-over 76 put her in joint-66th place with South Korean Jenny Shin and Japan's Hinako Shibuno.