Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain made seven birdies in a 5-under 67 on Thursday to move into a tie for third after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea.

The 23-year-old LPGA Tour member sits one shot behind co-leaders Karis Davidson and Yuri Yoshida, who each shot 6-under 66 on the par-72 course, with 54 holes to play.

Lopez Ramirez did her best work early. After opening with a par, she birdied the par-5 2nd and the par-3 3rd to reach 2-under, then added birdies at the par-4 5th and 7th. A birdie at the par-4 9th gave her five on the front nine and a 5-under 31 at the turn.

“All I did was hit a lot of fairways, keep the approaches in a safe place and try to hole the putts,” said Lopez Ramirez, who said the solid start gave her freedom on the back nine.

That nine was tougher as the wind picked up. A bogey at the par-4 10th dropped her to 4-under, but she answered with a birdie at the par-5 12th and got on the par-train the next four holes. A birdie at the par-5 17th briefly moved her to 6-under, though a bogey at the par-4 18th left her with a back-nine 36.

The fairway-first approach suits her profile. Lopez Ramirez ranks fourth on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee at +0.90 per round, and she has made 15 cuts in 22 starts this season. Her two top-10 finishes came at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in February (T10) and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G in September (T8). She is still seeking her first LPGA Tour victory.

“It’s very important out here to hit lots of fairways and lots of greens,” Lopez Ramirez said.

She also found a way to stay loose. Lopez Ramirez said she competed at Sudoku between shots to keep her mind off golf—and she finished the puzzle.

That relaxed mindset is the plan for the weekend.

“The most important thing right now is just to keep having my fun and try to keep my mind in a really good place,” she said.

Julia Lopez Ramirez Fires Five Front-Nine Birdies to Sit One Shot Back at BMW Ladies Championship

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