12 years and 20 days old amateur prodigy Lin Jie-En (林潔恩) wowed the first-round spectators at the new Da Da DIGITAL Ladies Open, a NT$3-million TLPGA Tour open event. She showed skills beyond her age to shoot a 3-under 69, sharing the five-way lead with TLPGA professionals Lai Yi-Ting (賴怡廷), Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍), Chen Hsuan (陳萱), and Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹).

The swirling wind during the practice days had turned down, luckily, when the official first-round began on Wednesday. The players got to enjoy a pleasant, sunny condition at the Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club today. Lai Yi-Ting became the first clubhouse leader when she returned a 69 mixing one eagle, three birdies and two bogeys.

“I was playing good, solid golf, but it could’ve been great if my putter went a tiny bit better,” said Lai, who committed a couple of three-putt bogeys and let a number of birdie chances slip. “The greens have plenty of hidden slopes. The grain of the grass also made it difficult to read.” The 25-year-old is still searching for her first victory on the pro tour.

19-year-old Liu Peng-Shan joined Lai in the lead later in the day. Starting also from the back nine, Liu bogeyed the par-3 13th but went on to score four birdies without giving away any more shots. She needed just 27 putts.

“My iron game was a little shaky at times. I really tried to dictate when I hit the irons to keep the ball below the hole, which helped me to go without too much trouble on the greens.” said the 2021 BNP PARIBAS & TLPGA Heritage Tour winner, who is in her third year as a pro. “So, yeah, I was putting great. I thought I was driving a lot better as the round progressed as well.”

Chen Hsuan got to a brilliant start birdying the par-5 12th and par-3 13th, her third and fourth hole for the day, in a row. Though she made a step back right after the turn on the par-5 1st hole, her patience rewarded her with another pair of birdies on the final two holes, which concluded her round with a 69.

“I hit a lot of fairways, missed some irons but I made some nice chip-and-putts to keep things under control. I think it’s a nice improvement already from last week. I hope I can keep it going tomorrow and hopefully the wind stays down like today. My shots usually fly higher so they tend to get affected by it,” said Chen, who will be traveling to the U.S. next Monday for her second-stage campaign at the LPGA qualifying test.

Chen Yu-Ju performed an impressive chip-in birdie from 15 yards on the 13th hole and followed it up with a consecutive birdie on the next to go 4-under, which put her in solo-lead before she made a three-putt bogey on the 18th to drop into equal lead. The Korea LPGA’s Dream Tour titlist will returned to the Dream Tour qualification event held in Thailand next week.

The biggest surprise in the first round saw Lin Jie-En, an elementary school student, who sank four birdie putts on Hole 3, 7, 10, and 14 and only dropped one shot on the 14th hole to join the lead at 3-under.

Her dad and caddie said Lin’s just beat her previous best round of a 71. “Jie-En looks up to Ariya Jutanugarn very much, who also broke par for the first time at the young age of 12,” father said. “She has great eyes on the course, and she’s developed a pretty good draw and fade technique, which definitely helps to give herself more attacking options to choose from.”

Lin, who is just 20 days past her 12th birthday and the eligible age for TLPGA tournaments, is in her second professional event. She finished in a tie for 51st, eighth among all amateur players, last week at the KENDA Tire TLPGA Open with a 54-hole total of 18-over. This time, she hopes to take away the low-amateur title.

Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇), Lin Shan-Wei (林善葳), and Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲) sit in a tie for sixth at 2-under. Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳) and June Ting (丁子云) closed the round with another shot off the lead.

Set at 6,250 yards long this week, the layout at the Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club was recently just renovated, from golf course to surrounding facilities, and ready to offer a whole new playing experience for the TLPGA Tour members.

Second-round play begins Thursday at 7:00 a.m. from first and tenth tee. Hole-in-one prizes from Departure, SAMPO, EAGLE Golf, and BESV E-Bike, which will not be exclusive for just the first ace, will be up for grabs on Hole 3, 6, 13, and 16.