Top-ranked Shanshan Feng the early leader in Hawaii

LPGA Tour
  • April 12, 2018

World No 1 Shanshan Feng finished like a house on fire to grab the first-round lead at the LPGA's Lotte Championship.

The Chinese star birdied three of her last five holes to sign for a five-under-par 67 at Ko Olina Golf Club.

That left her one stroke clear of three others – South Korea's Haeji Kang, Sweden's Martina Edberg and Canada's Brooke Henderson.

Ko Olina has a repuation for offering a fierce and windy test, but Feng insists she finds the challenge of mastering a windy course 'exciting'.

"A lot of people would be like worrying, thinking 'Oh, my God, it's so windy,'" Feng said. "I wake up and I'm like, 'Yeah, it's windy.' That's why in this kind of situation I still stay patient on the course and still stay with my routine."

Lying two shots back on three under are a large group of six players that includes former World No 1 Inbee Park, Eun-Hee Ji, Mo Martin, Lizette Salas, Julieta Granada and Alena Sharp.

Sharp, Henderson and fellow Canadians Anne-Catherine Tanguay, Brittany Marchand and Maude-Aimee Leblanc wore green and gold ribbons in memory of those killed in the Saskatchewan bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team.

Local favourite Michelle Wie finished at even par after a double-bogey at the 15th hole.

"I feel like back in the day I was really used to the wind here because I played in it every week," said the Hawaii native. "Now that I'm living on the mainland and come back I get a little surprised by it."

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