Huitai Open: Ren Yijia One Shot Back, Onkhaenak Leads

Thai 24-year-old Onkhaenak visited Mission Hills Dongguan for the first time this week and fell in love with the Olazabal Course at first sight. That was reflected on her scorecard. Thursday, she carded a 68, four-under-par, to take the first-round lead at the Huitai Open.

Ren Yijia

Professional rookie Ren Yijia birdied two holes after the turn for a 69, tying with fellow Thai player Khotida for second place.

Seven players shot 70, two-under-par, tied for fourth place, including three afternoon starters: Sui Xiang, Wang Yujia, and 17-year-old Canadian-Chinese player Liu Hui.

Onkhaenak, from Bangkok, birdied two of her first three holes, then eagled the par-5 15th hole—Olazabal's signature hole—when her second shot landed 5 feet from the pin, propelling her to the top of the leaderboard.

Onkhaenak

"I had 210 yards to the pin on my second shot. I used a 3-wood with a half swing and hit it to 5 feet. I was very happy to make the eagle," Onkhaenak said.

But Onkhaenak also had one bad shot—the par-4 6th hole after the turn. From the tee, she chose driver but hit it right and couldn't recover, taking a double bogey. However, she birdied the next two holes to get back to four-under-par.

"My ball-striking today was very solid. Only one shot was hit badly, that was the 6th hole."

Onkhaenak joined the China LPGA Tour in 2020. Her performance has been inconsistent over the years, finishing 41st in the 2025 season standings.

Onkhaenak has played four events in the Asia-Pacific region in 2026, completing only one. She withdrew from the China LPGA Preseason - Ningbo Oriental Challenge due to an ankle injury, and missed the cut at the recent LPGA of Korea Tour's Rejuran Championship.

"It was disappointing that I missed the cut on the Korea LPGA Tour, but through that tournament I understood my current problems," Onkhaenak said. "My putting was terrible, so I spent a lot of time practicing recently. This week I saw the results."

Ren Yijia

Ren's previous tournament also ended in a missed cut. She showed frustration multiple times at the Blue Bay LPGA. But today she displayed the form that won her the Preseason - Ningbo Oriental Challenge, and the smile returned to her face. She birdied all four par-5s and sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the 14th. In her post-round interview, she mentioned her adjustments.

"Since the Asia-Pacific Women's Amateur, I've been adjusting my swing. I didn't allocate much practice time to putting, which was why I missed the cut at the Blue Bay LPGA," she said. "After that, I spent more time practicing putting. Today my chipping was good—I hit it to where I wanted, and I made the putts."

Mission Hills Golf - Olazabal Course in Dongguan has hosted three Golf World Cups and one WGC-HSBC Champions. It's a challenging course where many players have struggled, including Li Dongmei. The Chongqing player once held the lead but bogeyed the 6th and took a double bogey on the par-5 7th with four putts, finishing with a 70.

Sui Xiang

Lin Xine's performance was even more regrettable. She was at -3 going into the final hole but carded a 7 on the par-4 18th with a triple bogey, finishing with a 70 and dropping to a tie for 20th.

This highlights Sui Xiang's achievement. The Guangzhou native birdied two holes and was the only player in the field without a bogey.

Japanese player Misaki Takagi scored a hole-in-one on the par-3 2nd hole, 132 yards, using a 9-iron. It was her second career ace but her first in competition. She finished with a 75.

Misaki Takagi

The 2026 Huitai Open is organized by the China Golf Association, certified by the China LPGA Tour, title-sponsored by Huitai Technology, and jointly organized by China Women's Professional Golf Events (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Huitai Technology, with support from the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau. The Guangdong Golf Association and Dongguan Tangxia Town Cultural Service Center serve as co-organizers, with Mission Hills Golf - Olazabal Course hosting the event. Themed "AI Empowers Her Power," the tournament introduces cutting-edge AI technology from Huitai Technology, achieving a two-way integration of technology and competition, opening a new chapter of "digital intelligence" for the China LPGA Tour.

The 2026 Huitai Open also receives strong support from tour sponsors Belvision Golf, SVG Golf, Huitai Technology, Ribena, TaylorMade, and official water sponsor C'estbon.