Choi Hye-jin, who finished as the runner-up in two consecutive LPGA Tour events recently, has made a strong start in her renewed quest for her first career tour victory.

Choi carded five birdies and three bogeys for a 5-under-par 67 in the opening round of the LPGA Tour Maybank Championship held at the West Course of the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 29, putting her in a tie for sixth place.

She sits three strokes behind the leader, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France, who shot 8-under, leaving her well within striking distance for a comeback victory in the remaining rounds.

Choi picked up back-to-back birdies on the 2nd hole (par 4) and 3rd hole (par 5), and added a third birdie on the 5th hole (par 5), shaving three strokes off her score in the opening five holes of the round.

However, she hit a stumbling block with consecutive bogeys on the 6th hole (par 5) and 7th hole (par 4).

Experiencing some fluctuation with a birdie on the 9th hole (par 4) and a bogey on the 10th hole (par 5), Choi regained her focus late in the round to significantly lower her score.

She reeled off consecutive birdies on the 13th hole (par 4) and 14th hole (par 4), and successfully added stepping-stone birdies on the 16th hole (par 4) and 18th hole (par 5) to wrap up her first day on a high note.


Choi has accumulated nine runner-up finishes on the LPGA Tour without a win.

Starting with her second-place finish at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open as an amateur, she finished as the runner-up three times before officially joining the tour, and has secured six second-place finishes since her debut in 2022.

This year, she finished as the runner-up alongside Kim Hyo-joo at the team event Dow Championship in July, and recently placed second for two consecutive weeks at the Buick LPGA Shanghai and the BMW Ladies Championship.

The tournament where Choi missed out on victory by the narrowest margin was the Maybank Championship held from October 30 to November 2 last year.

At the time, Choi led the leaderboard from the first round through the third round and looked poised to win as she held a four-stroke lead over second-place Liu Yan of China.

However, after shooting 1-over-par on the final day, she was caught from behind by Miyu Yamashita of Japan and Hannah Green of Australia, forcing her into a playoff after finishing tied, where she ultimately lost to Yamashita and finished as the runner-up.

Having experienced that agonizing match exactly one year ago, Choi is rallying once again to break her championship curse at the exact same venue.

Yamashita, who inflicted pain on Choi, carded a 7-under-par 65 to tie for second place alongside Sophia Schubert of the United States.

Charley Hull of England and Perrine Delacour of France share fourth place at 6-under-par 66.

Hwang Yu-min combined six birdies and one bogey for a 5-under-par 67, placing her in a tie for sixth alongside Choi.

Kang Min-ji and Amy Yang (Yang Hee-young) tied for 12th at 4-under-par 68; Ko Jin-young and Lim Mi-hyang tied for 21st at 3-under-par 69; Kim A-lim and Joo Su-bin tied for 30th at 2-under-par 70; and Lim Ji-hee finished in a tie for 56th at 1-over-par 73.

 
Yoo Hae-ran, who tied for second alongside Choi at the BMW Ladies Championship last week, has withdrawn from the tournament due to a finger ligament injury.

An official representing Yoo stated, "Yoo injured her finger while traveling yesterday, and hospital examinations showed no abnormalities in the bone. Although the injury is not severe, we decided to have her sit out this tournament to protect the player."

The official added, "As originally planned, Yoo will skip the Toto Japan Classic and is scheduled to compete in The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican starting on November 13."

With it becoming difficult to meet the minimum round requirement, Yoo's chances of winning the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average have grown slim.

(Photo: Yonhap News)