Park In-bee's Trip to Carlsbad "Taeguk Ladies Defend Their Pride"

Challenging Victory at Kia Classic Season Opener, 'US Women's Open Champ' Kim Arim's Rookie Debut, 'Number 1' Ko Jin-young Joins

'Golf Queen' Park In-bee challenges for victory at the Kia Classic, her first tournament of the year.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "Protecting the pride of the Taeguk ladies."

‘Golf Empress’ Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group) heads to Carlsbad. On the 26th (Korean time), the Kia Classic (total prize money $1.8 million), the 4th event of the 2021 LPGA Tour season, will be held at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California, USA (par 72, 6,609 yards). This tournament, sponsored by a domestic automobile company, saw Seo Hee-kyung (35, retired) crowned as the inaugural champion in 2010. This year, 144 players will compete in stroke play to determine the winner.

Korea’s pride has been wounded. There have been no victories in the first three tournaments since the season opener. The ‘American power’ consisting of Jessica and Nelly Korda sisters and Austin Ernst, who combined for three wins, has dominated. This marks a blow to the status of the world’s strongest golf nation. Park In-bee is at the forefront. She is the strongest player who has achieved the ‘Career Golden Slam’ by winning four different majors and the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She has accumulated 20 LPGA Tour wins, including seven majors.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak in February last year, she won the Australian Women’s Open and showed her resilience by finishing in the top 10 eight times out of 13 tournaments. She ranked 3rd in prize money ($1,377,799), 2nd in Player of the Year points (112 points), and 3rd in scoring average (70.07 strokes), placing high in all categories. Currently ranked 4th in the world, she is highly likely to secure a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics this August. She has been training domestically since December last year to prepare for this season.

This tournament marks her first start of the season. She has maintained good shot form and focused on putting practice, which was somewhat lacking. She explained, "I worked hard to develop a putting stroke with a consistent rhythm." She also has a good course fit, having tied for 2nd place last year behind Nasa Hataoka (Japan). She said, "I want to carry the momentum from last year’s 20 wins and achieve more than 21 wins," adding, "I hope to fulfill my dream of winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals."

'US Women's Open Champion' Kim A-lim will make her LPGA Tour rookie debut at the Kia Classic.

Kim Ah-rim (26, SBI Savings Bank), who won the US Women’s Open last December, will make her rookie debut. She is the third Korean player to compete as a non-member and the fifth in history to win on her first start. She said, "It’s a stage I have dreamed of for a long time," and "I want to achieve good results in a better environment." Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte) and Yoo So-yeon (31, Mediheal), who focused on the KLPGA Tour last year and won five titles, will also appear for the first time.

Korea’s lineup includes world No. 1 Ko Jin-young (26), No. 2 Kim Se-young (28, Mediheal), and 2019 Rookie of the Year Lee Jeong-eun6 (25, Daebang Construction), all aiming for their first wins. This tournament is especially significant for Kim Se-young as it is her first event after signing with a new sponsor. Past champions Im Ji-rim (31, NH Investment & Securities) in 2017, Ji Eun-hee (35, Hanwha Q Cells) in 2018, Park Sung-hyun (28), and Jeon In-ji (27, KB Financial Group) have also joined. Nasa Hataoka aims for her second consecutive win, while the Korda sisters and Austin Ernst are targeting their second wins of the season.

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