Taiwanese teen Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) carded six birdies and two bogeys in perfect scoring conditions to earn the first-round lead at the Taifong Ladies Open with a 4-under 68.

Cheng has a 1-shot edge over Yeh Hsin-Ning (葉欣寧), a 2-shot advantage over Thailand’s Wichanee Meechai, and the trio leads a group of four in a tie for fourth at 1-under par that includes Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏), Kuo Ai-Chen (郭艾榛), Liang Yi-Lin (梁宜羚) and Pennapa Pulsawath.

Three-time champion and local favorite Teresa Lu (盧曉晴) appeared to need some more time to get her groove as she opened with a 4-over 76 to sit in a 13-way tie at 28th.

Having had already four victories under her belt as an amateur, including the CLPGA and LET co-sanctioned Xiamen Open last November, 17-year-old Cheng Ssu-Chia only announced her decision to turn pro last month, and the Taifong Ladies Oepn is her second tournament as a pro. Cheng finished her debut show at the Hitachi Ladies Classic in a tie for a disappointing 15th having expected to have some home-course advantage only to get overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

“I was playing good, actually better than I thought. I felt I was more pressure-free and aggressive than two weeks ago at the Orient Golf & Country Club,” said Cheng. “I hit it close all day, which gives me lot of chances, and then obviously I putted well to take advantage of them. The course and the conditions were great as well.”

Cheng stared the day on the back nine, picked up a birdie and a bogey on the 13th and 15th and it was all uphill from there as she went on a tear with five birdies in the next nine holes.

Taking advantage of the great sunny weather, Yeh Hsin-Ning stayed bogey-free on the day with three birdies and recorded her best score at the Taifong Golf Club. “I really appreciate the experience last year when I got to play the qualifying tournaments in the U.S.,” said Yeh. “It was so competitive and every single girl there had the strongest mentality and they just wouldn’t give up on any shot, which really helped to think differently about my career and to appreciate the opportunities I have.”

The total prize of this year’s Taifong Ladies Open reaches NT$6.8 million with a first-place prize of NT$2 million, almost triple as big as the runner-up prize of NT$700,000. The tournament will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play with a cut tomorrow and only the top 50 and ties should sail through to the final round.

There are only two past champions in the tournament’s six-year history. 2014 champion and former World No.1 Yani Tseng (曾雅妮) did not come back to defend her title, who won here also in 2010 and 2011. The other three editions were claimed by Teresa Lu.