Choi Hye-jin 3 Under Par 7th Place... Park Sung-hyun and Lee Jeong-eun 6 1 Over Par Tied 59th Place

KLPGA Championship Day 1: Bae Seon-woo and Kim Ja-young 2, Hyun Se-rin Tied Lead, Cho Ah-yeon 4th, Kim Se-young 83rd

Choi Hye-jin is making an iron shot on the 1st hole on the first day of the KLPGA Championship. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] 'Domestic No. 1' Choi Hye-jin (21, Lotte) has made a fresh start.

On the first day of the 2020 KLPGA Tour's first major, the KLPGA Championship (total prize money 3 billion KRW), held on the 14th at Lakewood Golf Course in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,540 yards), she shot 3 under par and stood tied for 7th place. Bae Sun-woo (26), Kim Ja-young2 (29, SK Networks), and Hyun Se-rin (19, Daebang Construction) are tied for the lead (5 under par 67), while Cho Ah-yeon (20, Volvik), Hwang Yul-lin (27), and Cho Hye-rim (19, Lotte) are chasing in a tie for 4th place (4 under par 68).

Choi Hye-jin recorded one eagle, three birdies, and one double bogey. She made birdies on the 1st hole (par 5) and 6th hole (par 4), followed by an eagle on the 7th hole (par 5), making a spirited run of 4 strokes under par in the front nine. However, on the 15th hole (par 5) in the back nine, her tee shot landed in a bunker, and she missed a short par putt, resulting in a damaging double bogey. Fortunately, she changed the momentum with a birdie on the 16th hole (par 4). She is two strokes behind the joint leaders and is in a position to aim for a second consecutive win since last year's playoff victory.

"Overall, my play was not bad," said Choi Hye-jin. "There were some putting mistakes in the back nine, but it was still a satisfying round." Bae Sun-woo boasted a flawless performance with five birdies. After winning four times on the KLPGA Tour, she has been active in Japan since last year. "Maybe because I emptied my mind, good results came out," she cheered. 'KLPGA 4-time winner' Kim Ja-young2 and rookie Hyun Se-rin also dominated the top of the leaderboard, entering the race for the championship.

'KLPGA Rookie of the Year' Cho Ah-yeon is chasing the joint leaders by one stroke. 2018 champion Jang Ha-na (28, BC Card), Kim Hyo-joo (25, Lotte), and Lim Hee-jung (20, Hanwha Q CELLS) are tied for 38th place (even par 72). On the other hand, world No. 3 Park Sung-hyun (27) made one birdie and two bogeys, finishing tied for 59th place (1 over par 73). 'LPGA Rookie of the Year' Lee Jeong-eun6 (24, Daebang Construction) joined this group, and Kim Se-young (27, Mirae Asset) and Lee Bo-mi (32) are tied for 83rd place (2 over par 74).

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