Ko Ji-woo, who fired a 9-under-par 64 to share the first-round lead. [Photo=KLPGA]
Ko Ji-woo, who fired a 9-under-par 64 to share the first-round lead. [Photo=KLPGA]

Ko Ji-woo, known for her birdie barrages, fired a 9-under-par 64 in the opening round of the HiOne Resort Women's Open — the final KLPGA Tour event of the first half of the season — to share the lead Thursday.

Playing at HiOne Country Club (par 73, 6,658 yards) in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, Ko carded a bogey-free 64 to sit atop the leaderboard alongside Kim Min-ju. Seong Yu-jin and Jeon Ye-seong were two strokes back in a tie for third.

Ko delivered a flawless round in heavy rain, collecting nine birdies without a bogey. Starting on the 10th hole, she birdied three consecutive holes through No. 12 to build early momentum, then added birdies on Nos. 14 (par 3), 16 (par 3) and 18 (par 5) to finish the front nine 5-under. She kept her composure on the back nine, picking up four more birdies to close out the day in a share of the lead.

Ko won this tournament in 2024, and her strong opening round puts her in contention to reclaim the title two years later. She had struggled for much of the intervening period after sustaining a left thumb ligament injury following her victory at the McColl·Mona Yongpyong Open in June last year, which cost her distance off the tee and caused swing pain. Thursday's round signaled a full return to form.

"My condition was really poor heading into this week," Ko said after her round. "The thumb injury cut about 30 yards off my drives early in the season, and I hadn't been practicing enough. The finger is about 90 percent recovered now. Today's result — honestly, it wasn't that I was playing great. I just cleared my mind and swung, and it felt like the sky was looking out for me."

Kim Min-ju made a double bogey but offset it with 11 birdies to share the lead. Having claimed her first career win at the iM Financial Open in April last year, Kim is now one strong week away from a second title, roughly 15 months later. She has played 15 events this season, recording three top-10 finishes.

Play was disrupted Thursday by heavy rain and lightning. Of the 107 players in the field, 42 — including defending champion Bang Shin-sil — were unable to complete all 18 holes before sunset and will finish their first rounds Friday.

Im Hee-jeong, a native of Taebaek, along with rookies Yang Hyo-jin and Kim Hyo-mun, each shot 6-under 67 to share fifth place. Choi Ye-rim, who did not finish her round, was 6-under with three holes remaining.

Bang, seeking to defend her title, was 1-under through 13 holes, tied for 56th alongside Kim Min-sol, Kim Min-seon 7 and Ko Ji-won.


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