- Moa Folke fires an opening round of 67 (-6) to lead the Individual
- Team Arwefjäll and Team Fünfstück on top with 19-under-par
Sweden’s Moa Folke opened with a round of 67 (-6) to lead the Individual competition at the Aramco China Championship with Team Arwefjäll and Team Fünfstück on top at the end of the first day of action.
On the World Cup Course at Mission Hills China, the Swedish player produced a bogey-free round of 67 (-6) to lead by one in the Individual.
Folke, who started her round on the 10th hole, began the day with a birdie before making an eagle on the 18th hole.
The 30-year-old then rolled in further birdies on holes one, three and six to seal her round of six-under-par.
“It’s always so much fun playing well. I hit it really well today and I have been trending in the right direction for a few tournaments now, getting closer and closer. I’m getting there,” said Folke.
“Being a big-hitter helps quite a bit, I could reach most of the par-5s where some of the girls couldn’t and that’s definitely an advantage. The eagle gave me a lot of momentum, I had a few lip-outs before that, but then I hit my 3-wood to a metre and a half.
“I feel like I’ve been getting better throughout the season. I started out well and then went a bit so-and-so, I have been making a lot of cuts, so it’s been very consistent.”
Three players are in a share of second place on the leaderboard with Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama, England’s Alice Hewson and Germany’s Laura Fünfstück on five-under-par.
Thailand’s Utama only dropped one shot on the first day and rolled in six birdies around the World Cup Course.
“Today there was nice weather with lots of sunshine, I had a good team with me too and my putter was working, so I made some birdies today,” said Utama.
“Most of my putts were 10-15 feet. The condition of the fairways and the greens are very good. I feel like I’ve come back home when I play here because I played on the CLPGA two years ago. It’s a good vibe, so when you’re in a good mood you play good golf.”
Hewson, who successfully defended her title at the 2025 VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, was bogey-free making birdies on the third, sixth, seventh, 16th and 18th holes.
“It was really solid today, I didn’t miss a single fairway or green and you can’t say that very often. It definitely makes golf a little bit easier, I’m very happy,” said the three-time LET winner.
“My team were fantastic out there; we all fed off each other nicely. I would take it being a few degrees cooler, it’s the lack of wind that makes the hot conditions challenging as there’s no relief from the heat. I’m trying to find shadows wherever I can. I gave myself a lot of opportunities today and took advantage of a couple that I hit close.”
Fünfstück has had success in this format in 2025 winning the Individual crown at the PIF London Championship in August.
The German had seven birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard to also be in a share of second place on the leaderboard.
“It’s been super fun today! As soon as I saw the draw, I thought we were going to have a good time either way and thank goodness the golf followed,” said Fünfstück. “We had a great time and all of us played well.
“Since London, I haven’t felt far off, but some weeks have ended feeling like I was miles away, and I’m not entirely sure why. I think sometimes it just takes a bit longer to process a win and understand how you feel about it and what it actually changes.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really change anything. You still have to go out and play well every week. It’s just nice to see a low score again.”
Fünfstück’s team also sit in a share of the lead in the Team competition after posting a round of 19-under-par in China.
The quartet of Fünfstück, Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea, Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom and England’s Eleanor Givens combined well in China.
“I started really badly and then suddenly played really well and didn’t finish as strongly, but it was still decent. It was a good day, overall,” said Givens.
Darquea explained: “I’m really thankful Laura picked me and we’re having a lot of fun. Hopefully, tomorrow we can have a good day.”
Team Arwefjäll made up of Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjäll, England’s Annabel Fuller, Thailand’s Dolnapa Zukphokinvanich and Chinese Taipei’s Ching Huang combined to also post 19-under-par.
Captain Arwefjäll fired a round of 69 (-4) on day one which included six birdies and two bogeys to be one of 11 players in T5 in the Individual competition.
“We had a very fun round, I really enjoyed playing with them,” said the Swede. “We were chatting away and making birdies. I felt like I played well, hitting all the fairways and giving myself a lot of opportunities which was nice.
“My ball-striking was the strongest, being able to hit all the fairways and getting a putt at it was good. I like that the front and back nine are a little bit different, the front nine you need to be a bit straighter off the tee and the greens are a little firmer so you need to think a little bit more.”
Team Rhodes are in third place with Team Sobron Galmes in solo fourth and three teams in a share of fifth place.
There were two aces on the first day of action in China with Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd and Thailand’s Supamas Sangchan making a hole-in-one on the eighth and fifth holes, respectively.
Round two will begin at 7.45 am (local time) with the last team teeing off last at 10.14 am (local time) on the World Cup Course at Mission Hills China.
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