Hong atop leaderboard in Thailand

2009-02-26

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CHONBURI, THAILAND (TICKER) —Jin Joo Hong fired a 6-under 66 on Thursday, taking a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Honda LPGA Thailand.

After recording three birdies and a pair of bogeys on the front nine, Hong improved after the turn.

She eagled the par-5 11th before adding three more birdies on her way in to finish two ahead of a group of five players at 4-under 68.

“My putting was really good,” Hong said. “It really saved me. I had some really bad drives but I was able to catch up with my great putting.”

Leading the chasing pack is Angela Stanford, who won the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay.

The American got off to a bad start with a bogey on the first hole, but rebounded with birdies on the second and third holes.

The four-time winner on the LPGA Tour made the turn at 3-under thanks to birdies at No. 7 and No. 9, before moving to 5-under with an eagle on the 11th.

However, consecutive bogeys from the 12th moved her back to 3-under, before she got one of those shots back with a birdie on the 16th.

“I have been rolling the ball really well,” Stanford said. “I putted very well again today. The stats may not show it, but I feel good about my game.”

She is joined in second place by Paula Creamer, Kristy McPherson, Brittany Lang and Helen Alfredsson.

Creamer also opened with a bogey, but bounced back immediately by downing a birdie on the second.

Another on No. 4 put her in minus figures, before she followed nine consecutive pars with back-to-back birdie efforts from the 14th. She then secured a final birdie on the last hole to join the group in second.

“The greens were fast and the fairways were a little more firm,” Creamer said. “Some of it was really difficult to get through. I didn’t hit the ball as well as I had before. I missed lot of greens. … My chipping really came along well and I putted it really well.”

Alfredsson and McPherson both posted five birdies as well as a single bogey, whereas Lang managed to card a bogey-free round with four birdies, two on the front nine and two more on the back.

One shot further back is Nicole Castrale, who is alone in seventh after a 3-under 69.

“I played well today, but missed some greens and my short game saved me and I hit a lot of good shots,” Castrale said.

Sophie Gustafson, Hee-Won Han, Yani Tseng and Morgan Pressel are one stroke back of Castrale at 2-under.

Suzann Pettersen, the 2007 winner, finished with a 5-over 77.