Chinese Taipei’s Pan Yen-ling takes charge at Hong Kong Ladies Open

What a difference a year makes. After just 36 holes of the inaugural Hong Kong Ladies Open Pan Yen-ling was heading for the airport after carding consecutive rounds of 80 to miss the cut. Fast forward 12 months and the 22-year-old holds a commanding first-round lead following a blistering assault on the Old Course at Fanling.

Pan, who has yet to win since turning pro three years ago, took advantage of her accurate long drives – and the rain-softened course – to fire a sublime nine-under 63 and put her in pole position for the second edition of the US$150,000 event.

Because of the preferred lies ruling in place, Pan’s score won’t count as a new women’s course record. Not that the powerful player from Chinese Taipei was too concerned about that caveat.

“My previous best round in a tournament is 68, so this is really an amazing day for me,” said Pan, who only took up the game at the age of 16. “This isn’t an easy golf course at all – it’s very narrow. But I have practised a lot and taken a lot of advice from my uncle, who is a golf instructor. My game really came together, but to shoot 63 is still a big surprise for me.”

Pan’s performance was made all the more impressive after she dropped two consecutive shots early in her round. But a miraculous run of eight birdies and an eagle – at the par-5 11th – in the space of just 11 holes around the turn gives her a five-shot lead over her nearest challengers, Thailand’s Kanphinitnan Muangkhunmsakul and Chinese amateur Liu Yan in second place.

“The real difference between this year and the last is my mental approach to the game,” said the in-form Pan, who finished in a share of second at an LPGA of Taiwan event just two weeks ago. “Before I would worry every time I made a bogey. But now, I try not to think about anything negative. I just try to carry on and play the best that I can.”