KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Gemma Dryburgh’s first and only LPGA Tour victory came three years ago in Japan. On Thursday, the 32-year-old Scottish player shot a 7-under 65 at the Maybank Classic to put herself in position for a second victory in Asia.
Dryburgh’s seventh birdie of the day on the 18th hole at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club left her a stroke out of the first-round lead held by Hye-Jin Choi. Choi’s 64 included an eagle at the par-5 third hole and a birdie on the 18th.
Dryburgh was tied for second with Benedetta Moresco of Italy.
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“It was a very stress-free round,” Dryburgh said.
The humid and hot weather was much different from her native Scotland, but her hometown in the United States — New Orleans, where she attended Tulane — helped prepare her for the conditions.
“It was very different from Scotland, but living where I do now helped me on a day like today,” Dryburgh said. “I like how the greens are kind of similar to where I play in New Orleans, grainy. So it kind of suits my eye.”
Among the seven players tied for fourth with 66s, two strokes behind Choi, were Lydia Ko, Hannah Green, Ingrid Lindblad, Arpichaya Yubol and Somi Lee.
Choi said she made some good recovery shots Thursday in taking the first-round lead.
“I had a lot of situations which I could make bogeys because of rough and hazard, but I made a lot of good pars,” Choi said.
Defending champion Yin Ruoning shot a 68, as did world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul.
Thitikul, the only multiple-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year after winning the Mizuho Americas Open in May and in Shanghai nearly three weeks ago, has finished runner-up the past two times she has played in Malaysia.
“I think it just kind of feel like comfortable to play here,” she said before the first round. “The course, the weather, and also the fans seem like second home to me. I feel like it seems like a mini-Thailand.”
Last week, Australia won the International Crown team event in South Korea. Next week, the LPGA ends its five-week Asian swing with the Japan Classic at Shiga, the site of Dryburgh’s win in 2022.
