Czechia’s Patricie Mackova fired an opening round of 65 (-7) to hold a two-shot lead at the end of the first day of the 2026 Aramco Korea Championship.
Mackova was bogey-free in Korea rolling in birdies on her second, third, eighth, ninth, 13th, 15th and 18th holes at New Korea Country Club to be seven-under-par.
The 25-year-old equalled the course record set by Seojin Park in 2025, and it was also the lowest round of Mackova’s career.
“I didn’t feel much special; I just hit my fairways and hit my greens and made myself a lot of opportunities for birdies. Some fell and some didn’t. I think I hit almost every green, maybe I missed two, so that was a help for the low score,” said Mackova.
“If you give yourself a lot of opportunities some [putts] will fall eventually and that’s what happened to me today. I hit a lot of pin positions and the putt on nine was just a lucky one. It had good pace and I hope it would go in but that was not much about me.
“I haven’t had the best season; I struggled all over the summer and I switched a couple of people around me and it worked. I’m very happy that it worked because the results over the summer weren’t great, so I’m happy it’s working now.”
Mackova was wearing green in the first round of the Aramco Korea Championship to raise awareness around sustainability.
She added: “Myself, Sara [Kouskova], Celina [Sattelkau], and Camille [Chevalier] are part of an organisation called EcoAthletes. It’s an organisation of athletes who care about the environment and they feel something should change for future generations to enjoy earth as much as we do. We came up with the idea of wearing a green shirt on Thursdays this month. I didn’t have a green shirt, but I found this [green dress].”
Four players are in a share of second place with Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, Australia’s Sarah Kemp, Germany’s Olivia Cowan and England’s Lily May Humphreys all on five-under-par.
2025 AIG Women’s Open champion Yamashita begin her day on the 10th and made a birdie instantly before dropping her only shot only the 12th hole.
She rolled in another birdie on 17 before making three birdies on the trot on holes two, three and four before adding another on the seventh for her round of 67 (-5).
“I didn’t feel good during this round, btu after nine holes I was getting better and my putting was getting better so that’s why I could make that score,” said Yamashita.
“I’m a little bit tired [after Hawaii] but I really like Korea and I was excited to play here. I’m very happy to finish with a good result today. This course is really similar to Japanese courses and last year I played International Crown here. The greens are a little bit tricky with slopes, so putting is the key to make a good score.”
Kemp had a day of two halves with all pars on her front nine including a miraculous par-save on the ninth.
On the back nine, the Australian made her first birdie of the day on the 10th before adding another on the 13th hole, and she rolled in three in a row between 15 and 17 to also be in a share of second place.
“It was nice and solid to begin with, I had a lot of pars. I had a few chances but actually missed them, I knew it was a tough course so tried to stay patient. I made a really good up-and-down on nine,” said Kemp.
“I hit a terrible shot into nine, but maybe that got me going because I made a birdie on 10. I hit it close. I didn’t hole any long putts, I don’t think I made anything over 10 feet. I just hit some iron shots nice and close which was nice to see.
“You have got to hit it pretty straight off the tee and I either hit hybrids or wedges. I am a better hybrid player than iron player and better at wedges, so far it’s probably suiting me as my distances have been fairly good. It doesn’t look visually tight off the tee, but it can be in certain spots.”
Germany’s Cowan was bogey-free on her opening day in Korea rolling in birdies on holes nine, 10, 13, 16 and 18.
“It was good. I played solidly, I think I putted really well. I missed a few on the front nine as I couldn’t quite get the speed right. The putting green felt a lot quicker than on the course, so we were all leaving a few putts short. I managed to roll a few nice ones on the back nine to get it going,” said Cowan.
“My game is good. I have played pretty well all year, so I’ve been quite happy with it. I can’t really complain, I know there’s a good one coming and I’ve just got to keep at it.”
England’s Humphreys also fired a 67 (-5) which included a hole-out eagle on 13, as well as five birdies and two bogeys.
“I played very nicely and I had quite a lot of good fortune go my way which you need around here to shoot a low number. The course doesn’t give you anything. You need to earn every birdie and some pars,” said Humphreys.
“I holed an insane amount of long putts and on 13, I holed out for eagle which was a nice way to start the afternoon. It was a perfect wedge shot, 105, landed it two feet short of the pin and a small little bounce into the hole. I played nicely.”
Five players are in a tie for sixth with Korean duo Sung Hyun Park and Hyo Joo Kim, Hong Kong’s Ginnie Ding, Slovenia’s Ana Belac, and Singapore’s Shannon Tan all on four-under-par.
Round two begins at 7am (local time) at New Korea Country Club where there will be a cut to the 60 professionals and ties at the end of the day.
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