Korea’s Ryu leads in Japan

TOKYO: Korea’s Ryu So-yeon set aside concerns about her swing to birdie five of her last eight holes and take a one-shot lead in the first round of the LGPA Japan Classic golf tournament on Friday.

The world number three, seeking her second LPGA win of the season, has been working extra-hard on the driving range and the practice paid off as she fired seven-under 65 to lead by a stroke.

Ryu took her a while to find her feet, staying only two under par until the 11th hole where she picked up three birdies in a row.

She kept her momentum to put herself narrowly in front at par-72 Seta Golf Club, one stroke ahead of fellow Koreans Shin Ji-yai and Kim In-kyung, and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka.

“I think for a three-round tournament you better make sure you have a really, really good starting day and I guess I had a really good opening round,” she told the Golf Channel afterwards.

Hataoka’s bogey on the ninth hole was her only blemish as the world number 16 holed seven birdies for her six-under-par 66.