Image Credit: LPGA/Getty Images
A Thursday surge in Busan
Busan’s sea breeze brought more relief than resistance on Thursday, as LPGA International Busan delivered one of the most electric opening rounds of the season. The galleries—thick with family, fans, and flags—watched a homegrown star reclaim center stage. Sei Young Kim, back on native soil, blistered the course with a record-tying 62, staking a two-shot lead in front of a jubilant Korean crowd and an emotional set of family members who shouted her name on nearly every green.
“I played quite solid today,” Kim said afterward, grinning through the familiar chaos of local media and childhood friends. “Especially in front of my family and big fans. I really enjoyed it today.”
The round marked a full-circle moment for a player who has quietly rebuilt her form after several near-miss seasons. Kim’s father, a regular at this venue long before his daughter joined the LPGA, had warned her about the swirling afternoon winds. She took the advice—then attacked anyway.
The anatomy of a 62
After a one-hour rain delay softened the greens, Kim pounced. She peppered fairways early, rolling in birdies on three of her first five holes, then added an eagle at the reachable par-5 12th. Her control was clinical: wedges pin-high, putts rolling pure, the trademark laser-straight irons that once made her a serial closer resurfacing at full strength. When she walked off 18, her card showed ten birdies, two bogeys, and enough precision to tie the tournament’s single-round scoring mark.
“This course is really good,” she said. “After all the rain yesterday, I could attack every pin.”
Attack she did—the round’s 28 putts hinting that her putter, long the variable in her arsenal, is suddenly heating up at the right time of year.
Wannasaen’s quiet surge
Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen, rejuvenated after a mid-season lull, matched Kim’s aggression with patience. The 19-year-old posted 65, leaning on a red-hot putter and that signature calm rhythm that belies her age. “I played really good because I got a birdie from long putt, like two or three holes,” she said. “The front nine, not much wind; back nine, a little bit windy. I just put really good today.”
Wannasaen spent her two-week break at home in Thailand, working with her coach to regain confidence after a stretch of missed cuts. It showed. She holed from long range on 6 and 11, attacked with wedges on 14 and 17, and suddenly looked like the same player who dominated the Epson Tour two seasons ago. “I just want my confidence back,” she smiled. “This week a warm-up for next week’s International Crown.”
Lucy Li’s moment of magic
The highlight of the day belonged to California’s Lucy Li, who aced the par-3 13th with a pure 7-iron into a headwind. The shot landed short, hopped once, and disappeared to a roar that rippled through the galleries lining the cliffs above the green.
“I was complaining all week to my caddie about not holing out this year,” Li laughed. “I said I think I’m due a hole-in-one—and then it went in.”
It was her ninth career ace and her third in competition, made even sweeter by a charitable twist: BMW donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in her name. “That’s really awesome,” she said. “I’m so excited that one of my swings can do something for this world.”
The course and the crowd
LPGA International Busan, nestled along the coastline south of the city, offered both beauty and bite. The front nine played receptive after morning rain, but the back nine firmed up quickly as winds gusted off the water. The 17th, this week’s Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, tempted players with its 536-yard reachability; roughly a third went for it, while Kim and Wannasaen both laid up, trusting wedges rather than ego.
Crowds hovered around 10,000 for the opener—an unmistakable statement about golf’s cultural pull in Korea. Every birdie by a home player drew soccer-match cheers. Even Lucy Li’s ace earned chants of “Lucky Lucy!”
A leaderboard built for theater
Behind Kim’s record-setting 62, a tight pack sits poised for the weekend. Wannasaen’s 65 tied for second alongside Hyo Joo Kim, who quietly posted 67 with her trademark metronomic tempo. Lindy Duncan and Yealimi Noh also flirted with the top 10, riding hot putters and favorable morning conditions.
For context, Kim’s 62 is her lowest round since 2020 and just her second sub-63 on the LPGA Tour. Her strokes-gained-approach numbers mirror that of her peak seasons, when she ranked among the tour’s top five in birdie conversion. The last time she opened with 62 on home soil, she went on to win by five.
What comes next
Friday promises wind, firmer greens, and a leaderboard loaded with local talent. Kim’s family will return in greater numbers over the weekend, her brother and sister joining the gallery. “It’s going to be more fun,” she said. “I can’t wait.”
If Round 1 was about homecoming joy, Round 2 will test composure. Busan’s signature ocean gusts will stiffen, the greens will dry, and the chasers—Wannasaen, Li, Hyo Joo Kim, and a handful of American newcomers—will press. But for one afternoon, in front of her people, Sei Young Kim reminded everyone why she was once the most explosive closer in the game.
