China’s Liu Yu shoots personal best 62 to take early LPGA lead

LOS ANGELES, California: Liu Yu broke her personal scoring record for the second straight year at the Thornberry Creek Classic tournament with a bogey-free 62 on Thursday.Liu shot 10-under to take a one-shot lead over American rookie Yealimi Noh and South Korean Lee Jeong-eun after the first round of the LPGA Tour event in Oneida, Wisconsin. Liu’s previous personal best was a 63 in the second round of this tournament in 2018.“I really like the golf course, apparently,” said Liu, who made eight birdies and an eagle in her opening round. “I just made a lot of putts, mid-range putts inside 15 feet, which didn’t really happen at all last week. I really love the greens here.”Liu wasn’t the only player from China who had a solid opening round. Feng Shanshan shot an eight-under 64 and is tied for fourth with Tiffany Chan of Hong Kong and five others. He Muni, who has become a social media sensation with more than 225,000 Instagram followers in her rookie season on the Tour, fired a 69 and is tied for 47th, while Yan Jing shot a four-under 68.Liu said this course reminds her of home. “It just really fits my eye,” she said. “Bent grass fairways and greens. That’s what I grew up playing with because I was born and raised in Beijing, which is the north part of China, so we always had bent grass.”Noh shot a 63 in her professional debut on Thursday. She turned down a scholarship offer to play golf at a US college and instead turned pro. Thursday was her third LPGA event but first as a professional.“I was actually really nervous on the first hole,” she said. “I told myself I wasn’t nervous but it was a little different playing like my first LPGA as a pro. “I chunked it on the first hole, but it was all right. Throughout the round I got a little more comfortable.”

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