Inbee Park Tied for 2nd Place, 2 Shots Behind: "For the Tokyo Olympic Ticket"

2020 Season Opening Day at Diamond Resorts: Danny Kang Leads with 6 Under Par, Kim Se-young Tied for 5th

Park In-bee is teeing off at the 17th hole on the first day of the Diamond Resort Tournament. Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA ? Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "Golf Queen" Park In-bee (32, KB Financial Group) has made a refreshing start to the new year.

On the 17th (Korean time), at the Four Seasons Golf & Sports Club in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA (par 71, 6,645 yards), Park shot 6-under par on the first day of the 2020 LPGA Tour season opener, the Diamond Resort Tournament (total prize money $1.2 million), placing her in a tie for 2nd place. The event features a "pro-am" format where players with wins in the past two years and celebrities compete together. A total of 26 players are participating, with the winner decided by 72-hole stroke play.

Park In-bee displayed flawless play, making six birdies. She reduced three strokes in the front nine with birdies on holes 1 and 3, known as "stepping stone birdies," and a birdie on hole 7 (par 5). In the back nine, she added three more under par with a birdie on hole 11 (par 4) followed by consecutive birdies on holes 13 and 14. Her stable shots were impressive, missing the fairway only three times and the green only four times. Her "stingy putting" stood out with just 25 putts per round. She is two strokes behind the leader and has a chance for her 20th career win, her first in 1 year and 10 months since the Founders Cup in March 2018.

Although the season usually starts at the end of February, she started early this year to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. To qualify for the Olympics, Park In-bee must be ranked within the top 15 worldwide and within the top 4 among Korean players by June. Currently, she is ranked 16th overall, sixth among Koreans, following No. 1 Ko Jin-young (25, Hite Jinro), No. 2 Park Sung-hyun (27), No. 5 Kim Sei-young (27, Mirae Asset), No. 7 Lee Jeong-eun 6 (24, Daebang Construction), and No. 13 Kim Hyo-joo (25, Lotte).

She plans to participate in more than 15 tournaments by June. She is especially focusing on majors, which offer the most ranking points. "Today was a satisfying round with no bogeys," she said, expressing confidence, "It was the first tournament, but my putting was good." Park added, "I will participate in as many events as possible," and "I hope an opportunity to win comes. Until then, I will keep challenging myself diligently."

Daniel Kang (USA) dominated the leaderboard with nine birdies and one bogey, posting 8-under par 63. Riding a steep upward trend with a win, a second place, and a tie for third in the last three tournaments, she is aiming for her fourth career victory. Angela Stanford (USA) and Gaby Lopez (Mexico) joined the group tied for second, while Lexi Thompson (USA), C?line Boutier (France), and Nasa Hataoka (Japan) are tied for fifth at 5-under par 66.

Among Koreans, Kim Sei-young is tied for fifth, eyeing her second consecutive win. She played cleanly with five birdies. Yang Hee-young (31, Woori Financial Group) is tied for 11th at 3-under par 68, Hur Mi-jung (31, Daebang Construction) tied for 16th at 2-under par 69, and Jeon In-ji (26, KB Financial Group) tied for 22nd at even par 71. Defending champion Ji Eun-hee (34, Hanwha Q CELLS) is struggling at 25th place with 3-over par 74. Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) is at the bottom in 26th place with 4-over par 75.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.