Delacour and Schmidt tied at the top on opening day at Aramco Korea Championship

Perrine Delacour of France and Germany’s Patricia Isabel Schmidt head into the second round of the Aramco Korea Championship tied at the top, after they both posted a composed three-under-par 69 on day one at New Korea Country Club.

Delacour carded five birdies and two bogeys as she began her quest for a second win of the season at the first event of Golf Saudi’s new-look PIF Global Series, following her victory at the Investec SA Women’s Open – the most recent event on the Ladies European Tour – in April.

Schmidt, the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open champion, is eyeing another Ladies European Tour title and says she’s full of confidence after a strong opening round – despite challenging weather conditions throughout the day.

“My caddie is new for this week, Smilla [Soenderby]’s boyfriend [Mikolaj Kniaginin].” She said. “He’s a really good chatting partner which is important. He does a good job. He kept everything dry and it rained from the range up until the final green. I didn’t feel too stressed at all today. He helped keep me calm.

“I birdied the final hole which gives me a lot of confidence heading into tomorrow. I’ll just stick to same gameplan, nothing special. Hit fairways and greens and try to make lots of easy pars.”

Reigning champion and local star Hyo Joo Kim makes up the chasing pack on two under par along with Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa and Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea.

Despite the weather, fans turned out in strong numbers to support the players – many of them following Kim, whose home crowd support gave her an extra boost throughout the day.

She said: “There were some points where I could have done better, but overall I was satisfied. My performance got better throughout the round. I told myself on the back nine I couldn’t go over par. I know I can do better tomorrow.

“I feel confident and it’s a lot of fun. I have a lot of fans rooting for me. I just want to live up to expectations, but I feel confident about defending my title.

“It’s been raining, and the weather has not been so good, but I have my fans rooting for me. It’s a great help and it spurs me on.”

The Aramco Korea Championship is organised by Golf Saudi and features a unique format with 26 teams of four professionals as the top two scores on each hole count towards the team score. The innovative new format includes a team element alongside an individual competition for the 106-strong field featuring many of the world’s best women golfers.