Hye-Jin Choi uses late birdie run to lead Dana Open

Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea birdied her final two holes to post a 7-under-par 64 and take the first-round lead at the Dana Open on Thursday in Sylvania, Ohio.

Choi, who started her day on the back nine at Highland Meadows Golf Club, rolled in birdies at the par-3 eighth and par-4 ninth holes to move to 7 under. That gave her a one-shot lead over Aditi Ashok of India and Xiyu Lin of China.

Not far behind at 5-under 66 are South Africa's Paula Reto and a pair of Thai players, Chanettee Wannasaen and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap.

Choi, 24, has 12 victories to her name on the Korean LPGA Tour but is trying to break through for her first win stateside.

She kept a bogey-free card Thursday but did all her scoring over the final 11 holes after opening with seven pars in a row. She birdied Nos. 17, 18, 1 and 2 to kick into gear.

"It was really great day," Choi said. "I mean, I start a little weird, like my shot was not really great, so I try just ... make the par. Try to like until (her seventh hole) and then I make the birdie on 8, so I think, ‘Oh, I can do very better.'"

Choi is coming off a T7 finish at last week's major in France, the Evian Championship.

Ashok, a five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, is also in search of her first LPGA win. She posted three birdies on each nine without a bogey.

"I think I really like the golf course," Ashok said. "It's something similar to what I grew up on, tree-lined and smaller greens. That's kind of how it was when I grew up back in India. Yeah, I had my first-ever top 10 on tour at this course (and) played well here last year. Yeah, good memories and I think that helps sometimes."

Lin, meanwhile, led the field with eight birdies but bogeyed the first hole of each side. She got some friendly bounces, as she holed out for birdie at the par-4 15th and chipped in for another at the par-3 second.

"I bogey at the turn, the first hole after I make the turn, and then get on the second and hit it to the left," Lin said. "I know this course well enough that that's the last place you want it to be.

"And then my caddie just like, ‘Just give yourself a putt.' OK, I'm going to try. And then to land actually really well. Like land just short and then just straight like banging in the hole. I'm like, ‘OK, that's the only way I can stop it.'"

Eight players are tied at 4 under, four shots off the lead, including 39-year-old LPGA vet Stacy Lewis. The town of Sylvania is a suburb of Toledo, Ohio, Lewis' hometown.

"It's always nice to get off to a good start here," Lewis said. "Scores are usually pretty tight here. ... when you make the cut, you still got a chance here on the weekend. So just getting off to a good start for me is really nice."

--Field Level Media