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On Friday, September 28, LPGA star Yu Liu overcame her chipping yips to shoot a bogey-free 65 in the NW Arkansas Championship. Following the conclusion of the opening round, she was sitting at T6, two shots back.
Yu Liu entered Pinnacle Country Club after missing seven of her last eight cuts. After continuously struggling with her performance, she approached Viktor Hovland's coach, Joe Mayo, and told him about her chipping yips.
After working together for a few weeks, the improvement was evident in the first round of the NW Arkansas Championship. Starting from the tenth tee, she birdied the first hole she played in more than two months. She closed the front nine at 3-under with two more birdies. On the back nine, she earned three more birdies to finish the round at 6-under.
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Following the first round of the NW Arkansas Championship, Jasmine Suwannapura of Thailand took the solo lead after firing an 8-under 63. Carlota Ciganda, Ashleigh Buhai, Maria Fassi, and Liqi Zeng are tied for second at 7-under. Dottie Ardina and amateur Maria Jose Marin are tied for sixth alongside Liu.
"I'm really happy to be competing again" - Yu Liu reflects on her LPGA Tour comeback after NW Arkansas Championship opener
During the post-round interview, Yu Liu revealed that this was the longest break she had ever taken in her career.
"I had to do an eye surgery which kept me away for that long," she added. "And thankfully, I'm here. I'm really happy to be competing again."
Liu revealed that she picked the club again two weeks ago, but it didn't go as planned.
"I actually felt really fresh at first, but then everything went downwards after that," she continued. "I tried to force things a little too much, so my body wasn't really taking it as well, so I was feeling some stiffness here and there."
"I was not striking the ball as well as I would've liked. I felt like today I just managed my game really well and I'm really happy to be able to turn in a score like this today," she added.
Liu is paired with Lauren Hartlage and Emma Talley for the second round of the NW Arkansas Championship. The trio will tee off on Saturday, September 28 at 12:26 pm ET from the first tee.
