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“It was fun,” Akie said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow, too.”
The 23-year-old Japanese sisters have each won this year as tour
rookies. Chisato broke through at Mayakoba in Mexico in May, and
Akie won the Portland Classic in August.
On Wednesday, Akie birdied three of the first four holes. Then,
after making six birdies in a nine-hole span, she closed with a
bogey on the par-3 ninth. Chisati opened with a 70.
Fellow Japanese player Nasa Hataoka was a stroke at back at 65
with Gabriela Ruffels of Australia and Peiyun Chien of Taiwan.
“We played at 7:30 this morning and the wind wasn’t up,” Ruffels
said. “I feel like the defense of this golf course is the wind,
so having an afternoon tee time tomorrow, I feel like it’s going
to be a bit trickier and it might be tougher to shoot a lower
number.”
Defending champion A Lim Kim of South Korea had the best round
of the afternoon session, making four straight birdies on the
back nine in a 66. Thai players Patty Tavatanakit and Pornanong
Phatlum shot 66 in the morning.
Nelly Korda opened with a 69 in the afternoon, birdieing the
first three holes, then offsetting two bogeys with two birdies
the rest of the way.
“A little bit of an up-and-down round, but overall, happy to get
it in at 3-under par,” Korda said. “Definitely have a long way
to go to get in contention.”
Coming off a seven-victory season, she hasn't won this year and
has lost her No. 1 ranking to Jeeno Thitikul. The tour has had a
different winner in all 24 of its official tournaments this
year.
Charley Hull matched playing partner Korda with a 69. Hull won
the Kroger Queen City Championship three weeks ago in Ohio after
Thitikul four-putted the final hole.
Brooke Henderson, the 2018 and 2019 winner at Ko Olina, shot 70
in the afternoon.
After the event, the LPGA heads to Asia for tournaments five
straight weeks in Shanghai, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan.
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