KORDA ONE SHOT BACK AS YAMASHITA, HATAOKA AND COUGHLIN LEAD ARAMCO CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER OPENING ROUND

World No 6 Miyu Yamashita charged into a three-way tie for the lead in the opening round of the $4 million Aramco Championship on Thursday while second-ranked American Nelly Korda finished just one stroke off the pace after eagling her final hole.

Yamashita and compatriot Nasa Hataoka flew the flag proudly for Japan after teeing off in the morning wave, firing 5-under 67s at iconic Shadow Creek to set the pace with American Lauren Coughlin in the PIF Global Series co-sanctioned by the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour (LET).

Korda, who teed off in the afternoon wave and had to contend with trickier conditions as the greens firmed up and the winds strengthened, made a fast start with four birdies in her first seven holes and was seemingly on track to seize the outright lead.

However, she failed to maintain that momentum on her inward nine and slid backwards with bogeys at the 13th and 15th before ending her round in style by sinking a 15-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 18th.

Korda ended the day in a tie for fourth with fellow American Jing Yan and South Korean world No. 3 Hyo Joo Kim.

Several big names who also teed off in the afternoon did not fare as well as expected. World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul returned a level-par 72 while New Zealand's Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko and Australian Hannah Green, who has recorded tournament wins in her last three starts, both carded 73s. Fifth-ranked Minjee Lee of Australia fared even worse, running up a triple-bogey eight on her final hole for a 79.

Yamashita, who clinched her first major victory at last year's AIG Women's Open, rallied from a bogey at the 15th - her sixth hole of the day - with an eagle at the par-5 18th to reach the turn in 1-under 35.

She then reeled off birdies at the first, third, fourth and sixth to surge into a three-way tie at the top.

"The course is really hard and there are a lot of doglegs so you can't always hit driver off the tee," said the 24-year-old Yamashita, speaking through an interpreter. "With the firm conditions, it makes it even tougher ... the greens are firm and the fairways are firm too.

"But I could birdie on the par-5s so it was a nice round. The course is tough, but it's fun to figure it out. There is always a chance of making bogey here, so I want to play patient golf," added Yamashita, who has won twice on the LPGA Tour and 13-times on the LPGA of Japan Tour.

Hataoka, buoyed by two top-10 finishes in four LPGA Tour starts this year, recovered from a bogey on her opening hole with four birdies on her outward nine and then two more in her last three holes.

"I played pretty solid today .. and especially I made birdies on all the par-5s, so I really focus on that," said Hatoako, a seven-times winner on both the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour.

"Last week (at the Ford Championship in Phoenix), almost every hole you are trying to make a birdie, so it's a totally different type of golf course this week. That's why the par-5s are very important ... there are few reachable holes, so, yeah, I play good today."

Coughlin, a runner-up to Madelene Sagstrom in the LPGA Tour's T-Mobile Match Play event staged at Shadow Creek last year, launched her round with back-to-back birdies after teeing off at the 10th.

"Really nice start," said the 33-year-old from Minneapolis who has won twice on the LPGA Tour. "I played really, really steady. I was hitting my numbers all day, and on this course, if you're hitting your spots and numbers, it will give you birdies. If you miss them, it can be very, very difficult. So I just did a really good job of hitting my numbers today and hitting my spots."

Coughlin drew on her experience of playing at Shadow Creek during the T-Mobile Match Play.

"I feel like I know this place really well," she said. "Been in a lot of the places that you don't want to be ... I just know the spots that I need to land it to and with a lot of the pins where to miss if you have to. It was nice to not play seven rounds in five days like last year!"

World No. 3 Kim, who has produced sparkling form this year with wins in her last two LPGA Tour starts, was very happy after opening with a five-birdie 68.

"Coming into Vegas, people keep telling me to win three weeks in a row," she said, speaking through an interpreter. "I think I'll just try my best like usual. There is nothing else. This is probably the best I've played at this course, and so I think I'm just going with that good rhythm."

The PIF Global Series comprises five elite events across the Ladies European Tour, the season opening with the PIF Saudi Ladies International in Riyadh in February followed by the Aramco Championship in Las Vegas with events in other golfing powerhouse markets – London, Seoul and Shenzhen – to follow.

As ever with events in the PIF Global Series, things were almost as busy off the course as on it as a week of golf clinics introduced more newcomers to the game. This time it was students from Valley High School - Las Vegas who were treated to expert coaching as event organizers Golf Saudi stand by their pledge to develop the game the world over.