Australian teenager Minjee Lee, seeing things clearer than ever after a chance visit to an optometrist, took a share of the lead with Taiwan's Candie Kung at the LPGA's Women's Champions tournament in Singapore on Thursday.
Lee made four birdies and an eagle in her opening round of five-under 67 to join Kung at the top of the leaderboard on a windy day at the Sentosa Golf Club.
The defending champion, South Korea's Inbee Park, was among a group of four players tied for third at four-under 68, while the world No.1 Lydia Ko and in-form American Lexi Thompson both shot rounds of one-under 71.
Already one of the brightest prospects in the game after winning her first LPGA title last year, Lee has just started wearing contact lenses after learning her vision was slightly out of focus.
The 19-year-old only found out about the problem after undergoing a routine eye test as part of a mandatory medical screening ahead of this year's Rio Olympics.
"The optometrist said two years it's been deteriorating. She said my brain was just so used to it,' Lee said. "I was like, OK. But now I can see like really, really clearly."
Lee birdied two of her first four holes then eagled the par-five 12th when she reached the fringe of the green with a 5-wood then drained a 30-foot putt. She birdied the 13th and dropped a shot at the 17th after an errant tee shot but made amends with a birdie at the last.
"I was just really steady. I tried to just minimise my mistakes and try and miss in the right spots," she said.
"Yeah, just when I hit it close, take advantage of my opportunities. So that's where I made my birdies."
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