Pauline Roussin-Bouchard birdied her final three holes on Thursday at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club for an 8-under 64 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour's Maybank Championship. The French player, whose rookie season on the tour was 2022, is still looking for her first LPGA win.

Hull two shots back in fourth

American Sophia Schubert and Japan's Miyu Yamashita shared second place after rounds of 65. Yamashita won last year's Malaysian tournament after a three-way playoff, so her presence near the top of the leaderboard will be watched closely over the remaining rounds.

Asian swing reaches its closing stages

England's Charley Hull shot 66 and was tied for fourth with France's Perrine Delacour, two shots behind the leader. Hull birdied two of her final three holes to stay in touch. A group on 67, five under par, included Robyn Choi, Hye-Jin Choi, You Min Hwang, Liyana Durisic and Julia Lopez Ramirez.

The tournament is being played without world No. 1 Nelly Korda and No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul. Haeran Ryu, a major winner this year at the Women's PGA Championship and at the Evian Championship, withdrew before her first-round tee time for an undisclosed reason and had been the highest-ranked player in the field.

Last week, Yuri Yoshida won the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea, the fourth Japanese player this season to win on the LPGA Tour. Yoshida shot 69 on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. The LPGA's four-week, late-season Asian swing ends next week with the Toto Japan Classic at Omitama outside Tokyo, so the Maybank Championship is a late chance for players to improve their standing before the season finale.

Sources: Associated Press via The Herald Review and Sky Sports.