Chang Ching-Ling (張靖翎), Hou Yu-Sang (侯羽桑), and Japanese Riri Sadoyama share the first-round lead after shooting matching 70s on Friday at the 2025 Hitachi Air Conditioning Ladies Classic, the first event in the new TLPGA Tour season.

Japan LPGA campaigner Tsai Pei-Ying (蔡佩穎) and Thai player Navaporn Soontreeyapas sit in a tie for fourth on 1-under 71.

Chang “Wenny” Ching-Ling was one of the best players on the 2024 TLPGA Tour, racking up three titles. And she is now in a great position to take another victory just one week into the new year.

“I’m feeling a bit slow in the morning, I guess because of the coldness,” said Chang, who started on the 10th hole and made the turn on 1-over par. “I was hitting great irons, creating many opportunities on the greens, but I couldn’t quite convert, especially on the front nine. I missed lots of short putts. I’m happy it was getting a lot better on the back nine.” Chang added four birdies to her tally on her back nine leaving just one more blemish to finish on 2-under.

TLPGA Tour sophomore Riri Sadoyama is looking to take her first victory in Taiwan. Her best outing to date was a T2 at the Friends of TLPGA Open last November. “I actually didn’t really look at the leaderboard. I was trying to be focused on each shot. But I knew I was playing well, especially considering the difficult conditions,” said the 24-year-old Japanese. She was a little unlucky on the 17th hole, where she made her first and only bogey today to see herself down into a three-way tie for lead.

Also on 2-under was the elder of Taiwan’s Hou sisters, Yu-Sang. “It was not easy, wet and really chilly. I missed some greens, but I made a lot of up and downs, which was important for my confidence,” said Hou, who finished with a bogey-free 70 to make herself a co-leader coming into the weekend.

2022 champion Tsai Pei-Ying used two birdies and one bogey on the 17th hole to sit one shot back of lead. The 2024 Taya Group Ladies Open winner made some sharp par saves to keep herself among the front runners. “I kind of struggled with power today so I had to take out bigger clubs. I was glad it went okay and I could pretty much still bring the shots to where I wanted,” said Tsai.

The Hitachi Air Conditioning Ladies Classic returns to the Sunrise Golf & Country Club as the 2025 Taiwan LPGA Tour gets rolling. The international field sees 108 players gather from Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Winner of the NT$10 million event will take away a NT$2.5 million cash check. The competition layout is set at 6,391 yards long.

Annual proceeds from the tournament will be used to endow local charities. Over the past sixteen years, the donation amount has reached well over NT$100 million. This year’s donation will benefit eleven charitable organizations in the Taoyuan area.

The Hitachi Air Conditioning Ladies Classic is presented by Hitachi (Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Taiwan). A hole-in-one prize of a Hitachi Air-Conditioner will be up for grabs on the 16th hole for every ace.