South Korea’s Kim A-lim tames tricky winds for lead at HSBC Women’s World C’ship

SINGAPORE – The sweltering heat in Singapore is what usually makes things tough at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

On Feb 27, though, it was the wind that was causing trouble at the Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course.

Hit by swirling winds in the first round of the US$2.4 million (S$3.2 million) tournament, the difficult conditions were reflected in the leaderboard as South Korea’s Kim A-lim took the sole lead with a four-under 68.

A stroke behind in second was England’s Charley Hull, with a four-way tie for third between Minjee Lee, Yin Ruoning, Choi Hye-jin and Gaby Lopez at 70.

Commenting on her round, world No. 34 Kim said: “It was great because I had a really great short field and putter.

“There was a lot of wind, a lot of swirling, and it’s not consistent, so it was hard to read.

“But everybody is in the same hard situation because we couldn’t control the wind, and I have three more rounds to learn.”

The 2020 US Open champion has enjoyed a strong start to the season, winning the opener at the Tournament of Champions in February, before finishing sixth at the Honda LPGA Thailand last week.

She took some time off in between the two events to be a bridesmaid at fellow tour golfer Lin Xiyu’s wedding.

Kim, who posted five birdies and a bogey, attributed her form to a slew of changes she has made to her game. These include hitting a fade instead of a draw, working on her approach shots inside 130 yards and putts inside six yards.

On Feb 27, she reaped the rewards of her hard work, hitting 13 of 14 fairways and making 15 greens in regulation.

Despite having a strong showing in her first few tournaments of the year, Kim is not too fixated on adding more victories.

The 29-year-old said: “I’m going to keep working on my stuff because the result is not in my control, so I’m just going to keep working on my process.”

While the wind made things tricky for some, the ninth-ranked Hull found it fun to play in these conditions.

The two-time LPGA winner was up early to clock a “little” 5km run before posting a flawless round in which she had three birdies.

The 28-year-old, who is taking part in the HSBC event for the first time since 2022, said: “I just felt like I played pretty solid. I had a good night’s sleep and it was a lot cooler today. 

“I quite enjoyed it. My boyfriend said to me, try to be inside like the top five by the first day to make him happy, and I was just trying to climb that leaderboard all the way around.”

Singapore’s Shannon Tan opened with a one-over 73 in her tournament debut to be tied-20th after the first day.

The 20-year-old described the round as “a grind”, saying: “To be very honest I wasn’t striking the ball as well as what I usually do. I hit 11 greens out there and my average is probably 15.

“Up and downs are something that I’ve been working on in the off-season, so I’m glad to see it pay off.

“Overall, off the tee was great, it was just the second shot – the iron play wasn’t the best today. But overall, I’m still glad that I’ve grinded out today.”

She was also encouraged by the home support, noting that some of her friends had woken up at 6am to watch her play, while volunteers also told her “jia you (a term of encouragement in Mandarin)” when she walked by.

Tan, who plays on the Ladies European Tour, said: “It was really nice to see...

“I’m really happy to see friends, volunteers and strangers supporting me out there.”

Her compatriot Chen Xingtong, the only amateur in the field, was tied-59th after carding a 79.

Defending champion Hannah Green was tied-37th after shooting a 75.

Japan’s two-time US Open champion Yuka Saso withdrew from the 66-player field, but did not cite her reasons. She was replaced by fellow Japanese Yuna Nishimura.

Tee times, second round (Selected):

Hole 1
8.06am Shannon Tan (Sgp)
8.42am Jeeno Thitikul (Tha)
8.54am Lydia Ko (Nzl)
9.06am Amy Yang (Kor), Ayaka Furue (Jpn)
9.18am Yin Ruoning (Chn), Minjee Lee (Aus)

Hole 10
8.11am Hannah Green (Aus)
8.35am Lilia Vu (USA)
9.23am Chen Xingtong (Sgp)
9.30am Kim A-Lim (Kor), Charley Hull (Eng)