Aki Takamura fired a steady 2-under-par 70 on Thursday and reached the clubhouse alone atop the leaderboard after the first round of the Japan Women's Open.
Takamura, who managed to avoid the deep rough for the better part of the first round and tamed the difficult greens, carded four birdies against two bogeys at the Muroran Golf Club for a one-stroke lead over in-form Chieko Amanuma and Miyuki Shimabukuro.
"I played far better than I was supposed to today," joked the 29-year-old Takamura, chasing a fourth major title in her 10th year on the Japanese LPGA tour. Meanwhile, Amanuma opened her round by sinking a 70-yard second shot for eagle on the par-4 first hole and mixed two birdies with three bogeys for a 71 to join Shimabukuro one shot off the pace.
Miyazato surprise tops at Acom International
OGAWA, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) Second-year pro Kiyoshi Miyazato carded nine birdies for a bogey-free 9-under-par 62on Thursday to grab a surprising three-stroke lead after the first round of the Acom International tournament.
Miyazato carded three birdies on the back nine after teeing off on No. 10 at Ishioka Golf Club, and then charged over the front nine of the 7,046-yard, par-71 course with six birdies -- including three straight from No. 1. Yoshimitsu Fukuzawa sank six birdies without a bogey for a 6-under 65 to share second with Takashi Kanemoto, Nozomi Kawahara and David Smail of New Zealand.