China’s Cai Danlin got off to an encouraging start in the second edition of the Singapore Ladies Masters by taking the clubhouse lead with her opening round five-under-par 67 on Friday.
The 21-year-old, who is seeking her breakthrough on the China Ladies Professional Golf Association (CLPGA), mixed seven birdies against two bogeys to set the early pace at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club before lightning threats and rain suspended play for close to four hours in the afternoon.
All 66 players from the afternoon session have yet to complete their first round after darkness forced play to be suspended for the day at 7.03pm. They will return at 7.10am on Saturday morning to resume play.
Cai holds a one-shot lead over Chinese amateur Song Ruolin who returned with a 68 while Thailand’s Kan Bunnabodee is a further shot back after signing for a 69. Her compatriots Kultida Pramphun and Arisa Bintachitt also reached the clubhouse with matching 70s, trailing Cai by three shots at the US$100,000 event.
Teeing off on the back-nine 10, reached the turn in 33 after birdies on holes 11,13 and 16. The Shenzhen University undergraduate picked up further gains on the first and second holes before dropping a shot on hole three.
She recovered quickly by firing another two birdies on the fourth and eighth holes before dropping another shot on nine for a 67.
“It was a good round today. My short game was very good, and I capitalised on that. However, I felt my scores could have been even lower, if I had been even sharper with my putts. Overall, it was a good day and I look forward to the weekend here,” said Cai.
Kan showed the mental fortitude that led her to top the class at the CLPGA qualifying school in February by maintaining her composure to charge back into contention after a lengthy play suspension.
“It was a pretty solid round. I was in the zone before play was suspended but had to build up my momentum again when play resumed. I was on a birdie run with three straight birdies from 10 but bogeyed 13 and 17. I told myself to remain calm. But I also adopted an aggressive approach as I wanted to cancel out those bogeys to end the day on a happy note. I’m glad I managed to end the round with a birdie on 18,” said Kan.
Ren Yijia, who became the CLPGA’s youngest winner when she won the Beijing Women’s Challenge, signed for a 72.
Malaysia’s Jocelyn Chee shot an even par round 72 to lead the five-women Malaysian contingent after the first round. The 2023 Vios Cup champion, aiming for improvement in the next round, ended up tied for 18th place with 20 other players.
Amateur Winnie Ng secured the 39th spot with a one-over 73. Aretha Pan, the 2023 Toyota Tour Order of Merit Champion, carded a two-over 74 to share the 61st spot with fellow Malaysian Geraldine Wong. Unfortunately, amateur JX Ng was unable to complete her round after the four-hour delay; she was two-over through nine holes. The young amateur will played 27 holes on Saturday.
The Singapore Ladies Masters, sanctioned by the China Ladies Professional Golf Association (CLPGA) features 132 players from 14 countries and is the only tournament on China’s premier women’s golf circuit held outside China in their 2024 season.
The top 60 professional players, along with ties, from the opening two rounds will advance to the final round of the Singapore Ladies Masters on Sunday.
Organised by LLD Sports, the Singapore Ladies Masters is proudly sponsored by Marina Bay Sands and CarTimes Group and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.
