China’s Xue Zixuan fired a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to set the early pace at the Moutai Singapore Ladies Masters on Friday.
The 21-year-old, chasing her breakthrough on the China LPGA, enjoyed a four-shot lead over compatriots Xu Ying (67) and Thailand’s Kultida Pramphun (67) after marking her card with eight birdies at the Masters Course, Laguna National Golf Club.
“I’m pleasantly surprised by my score today, as this is my best round I’ve played so far in my career. I took my birdie chances well and did not make many mistakes,” said Xue, whose best result this season was a tied-third finish at the Tianjin Women’s Open in April.
“I was already feeling confident about my form, coming into this week, and I’m glad the hard work I’ve put into practice paid off today.”
Xue started strongly with three birdies on holes two, four, and seven for an outward 33. She continued her charge with another birdie on 10 after the turn before picking up further gains on the 13th, 14th and 16th holes and closing with another birdie on 18.
“The weather suspension actually helped as I managed to get some rest during the break and came back fully recharged,” said Xue of the thunderstorms that affected play for close to two hours.
Defending champion Pang Runzhi, meanwhile, returned with a 70 for a tied-ninth place, while Anne Fernandez emerged as the highest placed Singaporean after signing for a 73 to end the opening day of the US$120,000 event in tied-31st position.
Full scores are available here.
