Shannon Storms Out of the Starting Blocks

Kasugai, Aichi, Japan: Singaporean Shannon Tan unleashed a stunning birdie barrage to storm clear at the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the women’s tournament at the 20th Asian Games.

On the back of a brilliant display of ball-striking, the strapping 22-year-old snared nine birdies en route to a seven-under-par 63 at the Kasugai Country Club’s East Course in Aichi Prefecture.

“My ball striking was good. It’s something I worked on last week in Spain. I’m glad that the work I did has shown its improvement today,” said last year’s Ladies European Tour Order of Merit champion. 

Ominously for her rivals in the 45-player women’s field here, Tan feels there is room for improvement. 

“Honestly, I left a couple of shots out there, had a few putts short. As a golfer, you’re always like: ‘Oh, I could have done this better’. But it’s a decent start and I just have to try to keep the momentum for the next three rounds,” she said.

Taking advantage of the soft greens, 13 players bettered par, with 23-year-old Indian amateur Pranavi Urs impressing with a 66 to claim second place.

World number six Yin Ruoning of China and Thailand's Arpichaya Yubol, winner of the individual gold medal at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023, are in joint third place on 67, alongside Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Wei-ling and Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines, a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Asiad. 

Urs was not the only amateur to excel. Koreans Yang Yun-seo, the reigning Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific champion, and Kim Gyu-been, winner of the individual title at this year’s Queen Sirikit Cup, both returned 68s.

Chen Xingtong, the 17-year-old amateur who was runner-up in last year’s US Junior Girls’, made it a memorable day for Singapore, posting a one-under 69.

Combined with Tan’s 63 that gave Singapore a total of eight-under 132 in the team event in which the best two daily scores in each three-player team are counted.

Four strokes back in joint second place are Korea, Chinese Taipei, China and Thailand. They are followed by India and the Philippines (both 137), Hong Kong China (140) and Japan (141).

Reflecting on her round of 67, which contained five birdies and two bogeys, Yin said: “I missed a couple of putts. But it was a pretty solid round. My swing feels good.

“We played in the afternoon and on the greens there were a lot of (spike) marks. Tomorrow, we play in the morning. It’s going to be fresh and I’m going to have more chances.”

This is the third Asian Games at which Yin has represented China and she’s determined to add to the two team bronze medals she’s won to date.

She said: “You just can’t say no to a chance to wear the national flag and represent your country. It feels different than when I play on the LPGA Tour. I feel very proud, and I hope I do well for the country, for my team as well.” 

First Round Scores

Leading Women’s Individual Scores

63 – Shannon Tan (Singapore)
66 – Pranavi Urs (India)
67 – Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines); Hsu Wei-ling (Chinese Taipei); Yin Ruoning (China); Arpichaya Yubol (Thailand)
68 – Kim Gyu-been (Korea); Yang Yun-seo (Korea)
69 – Chen Xingtong (Singapore); Chien Pei-yun (Chinese Taipei); Zhang Weiwei (China); Patcharajutar Kongkraphan (Thailand); Aira Nagasawa (Japan)

Selected Scores

70 – Arianna Lau (Hong Kong China); Sophie Han (Hong Kong China); Virginie Ding (Hong Kong China); Rianne Malixi (Philippines)
71 – Park Seo-jin (Korea); Tseng Ya-ni (Chinese Taipei)
72 – Ai Goto (Japan); Mamika Shinchi (Japan)

Full Women’s Team Scores

132 – Singapore
136 – Korea; Chinese Taipei; China; Thailand
137 – India; Philippines
140 – Hong Kong China
141 – Japan
145 – Indonesia; Vietnam
147 – United Arab Emirates
160 – Kazakhstan
169 – Mongolia