Stephanie Meadow goes bogey free as Ashleigh Buhai leads in South Korea

South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai made a rousing return to the LPGA Tour with a 10-under-par 62 to grab a one-shot lead after Thursday's opening round of the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea while Antrim's Stephanie Meadow has also made a bright start.

Like the leader, Meadow went bogey free with five birdies seeing her sit just outside the top 10 after round one.

Sidelined for five weeks with a back injury, 34-year-old Buhai reached her career-best score with 10 birdies at the 6,647-yard Seowon Valley Country Club.

"My wedge play was really solid today. I mean, I hit every time and just about had a wedge in my hand, I hit it to a couple feet. So I didn't have to think too hard on those putts. But then I rolled the ball really well too," said Buhai, who won the ShopRite LPGA Classic in June.

"When I didn't hit it too close, the ones that didn't go in burnt the edges, so I felt all round of my game is in a good place at the moment."

Buhai said she is still recovering from the back injury but felt refreshed coming into the event.

"I've had one week of practice coming into here. And my goal for this week was to play with no expectations, and that's often when you try to play well in a game," Buhai said. "My coach came into Florida last week, we worked on three things, and I've just tried to stick to doing those three things."

Alison Lee matched her career-best 18-hole score with a nine-under 63 to sit one shot back, finishing a clean round with four birdies on the front and five on the back.

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Lee has two previous top-10 finishes at the BMW Ladies Championship.

"I feel like my game is in a really good place. I'm striking the ball really well. I feel really good about my swing. Just something that's been lacking