Chizzy Iwai opened the JM Eagle LA Championship with a bogey-free 9-under 63 on Thursday, tying the course scoring record and the tournament mark at El Caballero Country Club. Her round gave her a two-shot lead after the first day in Southern California.
Iwai’s 63 was the lowest first-round score of her LPGA career, and she did it with crisp numbers from start to finish: 11 of 14 fairways, 17 of 18 greens and 27 putts. She started on the back nine, made birdies on holes 11 through 15, then added eagle at the par-5 16th to go out in 29 before picking up two more birdies on the way in.
Patty Tavatanakit, Sei Young Kim and rookie Suvichaya Vinijchaitham were tied for second at 7-under 65, keeping the board tight behind Iwai. Tavatanakit and Kim each posted eight birdies and one bogey, while Vinijchaitham led the field with nine birdies.
The opening round played out in a window that rewarded the morning wave before the course became firmer and quicker later in the day. That helped explain why the leaderboard stayed crowded, with Lauren Coughlin, Jasmine Suwannapura, Natasha Oon, Chella Choi, Jessica Porvasnik and Manon De Roey among those at 6-under after Thursday’s play.
Friday had the chance to feel very different, and not just because of the tighter scoring spread. Iwai’s opening salvo set the pace, but the number of players within striking distance means the tournament can still turn quickly if the conditions harden as the round unfolds.