Miyu Yamashita shares the first-round LPGA lead in Japan as she tries for two wins in a row

OMITAMA, Japan (AP) — Miyu Yamashita, who won the LPGA’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia over the weekend, was among three players atop the leaderboard after Thursday’s first round of the Toto Japan Classic.

Yamashita and fellow Japanese Aki Iwai and Sayaka Takahashi players shot 6-under-66s for a one-stroke lead over a group of three more just off the pace.

Iwai is also coming off a victory in late September in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Minami Hiruta, Pajaree Anannarukarn and Fuka Suga shot 67 Thursday.

Nine players, including defending champion Nasa Hataoka, were two off the lead after 68s on the 6,598-yard layout.

The Toto Japan Classic is the last of four tournaments in the LPGA’s so-called late-season Asian swing.

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