Korea’s Somi Lee wasted no time making her mark at the PIF Saudi Ladies International, firing a dazzling seven-under-par 65 in Thursday’s opening round at Riyadh Golf Club.
The 26-year-old soared to the top of the leaderboard with four birdies on the front nine and three more in her final four holes—just enough to edge ahead of Germany’s Esther Henseleit and England’s Annabel Fuller by one shot.
This is Lee’s first Ladies European Tour event, and her game already looks razor-sharp following a top-15 finish at last week’s Founders Cup.
Rather than bask in the glow of Thursday’s performance, however, Lee remains focused on the next shot.
“I don’t want to think about what’s passed,” she said. “I just want to think about what’s coming, and that’s my main focus.”
While there’s a healthy scramble among elite pros for a slice of the tournament’s $5 million purse, the event has also introduced a novel team format. In it, 28 squads of four professionals combine the top two scores per hole to determine the day’s standings.
Team Kyriacou leads the pack after a collective flurry of birdies, thanks to its Australian captain Stephanie Kyriacou, Germany’s Olivia Cowan, the Czech Republic’s Sara Kouskova, and England’s Liz Young.
Not far behind sits Team Lee, led by Somi Lee herself—whose eye-catching performance paired well with a similarly impressive 67 from teammate and fellow Korean Minsun Kim.
Supported by France’s Nastasia Nadaud and Amy Taylor of England, their combined score of -17 has them poised to challenge for the top spot on Friday.
Besides the low numbers, the day had its highlights: Olivia Cowan nearly aced the par-3 17th, and 20-year-old April Angurasaranee from Thailand notched her first hole-in-one, calmly holing a 6-iron on the sixth. Big shot, big smiles all around.
In a landmark move for women’s golf, the PIF Saudi Ladies International matches the men’s PIF Saudi International Presented by SoftBank in prize money—an important milestone in levelling the playing field.
Round two tees off on Friday, February 14, with Somi Lee and the rest of the field aiming to keep those birdies flying and the leaderboard buzzing.
