MISSION HILLS HAIKOU, CHINA ― Europeans dominated the first day of individual play at the second World Ladies Championship, Thursday, at Mission Hills Haikou resort on the tropical island of Hainan, southern China.

Gwladys Nocera of France, Sophie Walker of England and Linda Wessberg of Sweden led the pack after the first day of individual play with 5 under par apiece carrying with them a flock of birdies in tow.

Korea’s Suh Bo-mi and rising star Kim Hyo-ju finished nipping at their heels with 4 under par each.

Nocera picked up birdies at hole 3, 8 and 17 and took control at hole 18 with an eagle. For England’s Walker, it was birdies galore on the 1st, 7th, 8th, 12th, and 17th. 

The Sandbelt Trail course provided competitors with plenty of opportunities for birdies, especially on the par-5 hole 8, a 502-yard bunkerless fairway which allowed for an easy drive off the tee. Mature Lychee trees proved not as troublesome as originally anticipated in second shots, and players easily avoided the deep greenside bunker for the bird.

Nocera’s amazing eagle on hole 18 was another matter entirely. The hole plays parallel with hole 1 and is forebodingly long at over 600 yards. That means three well played shots are required just to reach the green, and a collection of wetlands snake in and out, splitting the fairway in twain.

With prizes totaling $600,000, the tournament gathers 108 of the best female golfers in the world and, if that does not provide enough drama for intense women’s golf, world No. 4 Park In-bee, defending champ Feng Shanshan and No. 6 Suzann Pettersen faced off bunched together in position 23 of Day 1.

Park, who took advantage of Ariya Jutanugarn’s triple bogey to win LPGA Thailand Open last month, turned a chance for a birdie on hole 8 and transformed it into an eagle. She looked formidable after the first half at 4 under par but, after she bogeyed at hole 15, it looked as though she would not even finish with the top 10.

Park needed to bring her game up a notch, and she did. The menacing hole 18 opened up for her, bringing in yet another birdie in a day of play defined by them.

The tournament at Sandbelt Trails Course continues through March 10. Mission Hills, located in Haikou city on the tropical island, is the fourth stop on the Ladies European Tour’s international schedule for 2013.

The individual professional competition features 72 holes of strokeplay with a cut to the leading 50 professionals and those tied after round two, while the amateur and team competitions will be played simultaneously.

China is showcasing its rapid development in the field of golf by hosting the competitive play among so many top ranked athletes, vying side-by-side with internationally recognized Chinese golfers for a huge purse and prizes for the individual professional, amateur and team events.

Each team will be represented by two players and the result will be determined by the lowest team aggregate score. If a player misses the cut in the individual tournament, she must play the remaining two rounds to be eligible for the team prize fund.

There will be 19 teams representing 18 different countries, with two teams from China.

By Philip Iglauer, Korea Herald correspondent
(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)