KAPOLEI, Hawaii — Yuka Saso and Brittany Altomare got hot late to shoot 8-under 64s and share the early lead in Wednesday’s first round of the Lotte Championship.
So Yeon Ryu and Ally Ewing were a shot back among the early starters.
Saso, a 19-year-old from the Philippines, birdied five of her last six holes. She won the 2019 Girls Junior PGA Championship and turned pro that November after earning her card on the Japan LPGA Tour, where she is currently third on the money list.
Altomare, who like Saso finished on the front nine, played that side in 29, birdieing the first seven holes in her bogey-free round.
Sei Young Kim, who won this event in 2015 and is ranked No. 3 in the world, shot 67 along with Wei-Ling Hsu and Mi Hyang Lee.
Two-time defending champion Brooke Henderson was playing in the afternoon.
Hawaii-born Michelle Wie West, the 2014 champion, is not playing. She competed in the previous two LPGA events in her return after giving birth to a daughter last year.
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