Sung Yoo-jin, 23, thrilled fans in South Korea in April when she finished runner-up in a playoff at the Lotte Championship on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour. It was a reminder of the old Korean women’s golf formula: if you’re a top player in Korea, you can be a top player anywhere on the world stage. 메이저사이트 The confidence gained from performing well in big tournaments helped her win the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour’s Doosan Match Play Championship in May at Radena Golf Club in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, winning all seven matches from the group stage to the final. It was her second title after winning the Lotte Open last year.
Sung was overshadowed at the start of her 2019 debut by the likes of Jo Ae-yeon, Lim Hee-jung and Park Hyun-kyung, all of whom are in the same age group. She finished her rookie year ranked 85th on the money list and had to reseed. Since then, however, she has steadily improved to 32nd in 2020, 28th in 2021, and 19th in 2022. This year, her potential is exploding.
Sung carded eight birdies without a bogey on the first day of the KLPGA Tour’s McCall-Mona Yongpyong Open ($800,000) at Birch Hill Country Club (Par 72) in Yongpyong, Gangwon Province on Tuesday to share the lead with Song Ga-eun (23) and Lee Ju-mi (28) with an 8-under 64. Her 8-under 64 is one stroke behind the course record (9-under 63) set by Hye Jin Choi in the third round of this event in 2017. Sung, who has recently been suffering from left-hand thumb trigger syndrome, said, “There is still some pain at impact, but it has improved a lot with treatment. On a scale of 1 to 10, the pain is currently around 2-3, but my sisters Inbee Park and Lydia Go also have pain in the same area, so I’m thinking positively about it, saying it’s an injury that happens to good players.”
In fact, Birch Hill Country Club, built at an altitude of 700 meters, is a challenging course with many ups and downs and slight slopes on the greens. However, the rain has softened the greens and the recent lack of deep rough has caused many players to cut back on their strokes.
“I struggled with my iron distance on this course,” said Lee, who won her first Tour event at the MediHill-Korea Times Championship in April. “This year I chose a shorter club, and that strategy worked well.” “I had a problem with my arms being a little fast in my transition and cutting it, so I thought I would just focus on my lower body lead today and it worked out well,” said Song. “The greens are very forgiving and I feel good with my shots, so I want to be aggressive for the rest of the round.”
메이저놀이터순위 The conditions at this tournament are conducive to low scores. It will be a test of the attacking abilities of the top players on the KLPGA Tour.