Folks, listen up! What a start to the new LPGA season. The Tournament of Champions immediately got down to business, and one player has catapulted herself to the top with an absolutely phenomenal performance.
Nasa Hataoka delivers a stellar round and snatches the lead!
Nasa Hataoka just dropped four of her seven birdies on the back nine, securing the sole lead at the LPGA Tournament of Champions with a sensational round of 66 (-6). And that's despite top star Jeeno Thitikul hot on her heels!
On holes 15 and 16, Hataoka really turned it on: back-to-back birdies! This propelled her to the top of this season's opener at the legendary Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida. What an opening!
Jeeno Thitikul and a Power Flight Right Behind Her
Jeeno, who had an incredible 2025 season with three victories and the LPGA Player of the Year award, also showed her prowess with six birdies and a 67 (-5). Also teeing off alongside her: her Thai colleague Chanettee Wannasaen, England's rising star Lottie Woad, and Sweden's Linn Grant. A true power flight, I tell you!
Hataoka herself? She credits her putting, which propelled her to the front in this first event of the season. And she has clear goals in sight, folks! 'I want to become a Major champ and win more than two tournaments,' declared the 27-year-old, who by the way already has seven LPGA titles to her name – the last one at the Japan Classic last year. It hardly gets more ambitious!
'When I came to the Tour, I was the youngest Japanese player, and there were only five or six players from Japan. Now there are 15, and I'm the oldest. But I still want to win, absolutely!' Respect, Nasa!
Jeeno at 60-70% – and still incredibly strong!
Jeeno, who is only at 60 to 70 percent of her game after a quiet off-season recuperating from a wrist injury, is still putting up an impressive performance. 'I don't really feel ready-ready yet,' she confessed. 'I just lack the necessary practice time.' You can do that when you still shoot a 67, Jeeno!
Linn Grant also started like a house on fire on the back nine, securing five of her six birdies there to claim her share of second place. Chanettee managed a remarkable seven birdies but had to contend with two bogeys. And Lottie Woad? She had six birdies to her credit until she regrettably suffered a single bogey on the 18th, which unfortunately knocked her out of the lead. Ouch, that one stung!
'It was good, but also somehow... strange,' Woad commented on her round. 'I hit a lot of really good shots close to the hole, but then also some where I thought: What am I even doing here?' Every golfer knows that feeling, right?
'I missed a lot more fairways than usual, I definitely need to work on that,' added the 22-year-old. E
