Jihan Sol and Yoo Hae-ran 'Tied for Lead by 2 Strokes'... Song Ga-eun 'Tied for 3rd at 6 Under Par'

E1 Charity Open Day 1: 8-Under Surge, Park Hyun-kyung at 3-Under, Lee So-young and Lee Jung-min at 2-Under 'Steady Start'

Jihan Sol is teeing off at the 10th hole on the first day of the E1 Charity Open. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Jihan Sol (25, Dongbu Construction) is on a winning streak.

On the 28th, at the South Springs Golf Club Mountain-Lake Course (par 72, 6,546 yards) in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the first day of the KLPGA Tour E1 Charity Open (total prize money 800 million won), she surged with 8 under par to dominate the top of the leaderboard. Yu Hae-ran (20, SK Networks) is also in this group. Rookie of the Year points leader Song Ga-eun (21, MG Saemaeul Geumgo) is chasing from a tie for 3rd place at 6 under par. Due to severe weather, the start was delayed by about 4 hours, and many players could not finish their rounds.

Jihan Sol boasted flawless play with 8 birdies and no bogeys. Starting at the 10th hole, she made two pairs of consecutive birdies at the 12th-13th and 16th-17th holes, and added 4 more birdies on the back nine at holes 3, 5, 6, and 9. This season, she has shown a clear upward trend with a runner-up finish at the Kyochon Honey Ladies Open on the 9th and 3rd place at last week's Doosan Match Play Championship. This is her second career win opportunity since winning the ADT Caps Championship in November 2017.

Yu Hae-ran recorded an eagle and 7 birdies (1 bogey). ‘KLPGA Championship champ’ Park Hyun-kyung (21, Korea Land & Housing Trust) started smoothly by reducing 3 strokes. Defending champion Lee So-young (24, Lotte) and ‘2015 champion’ Lee Jung-min (29, Hanwha Q CELLS) both posted 2 under par. Han Jung-won (51), the ‘prosthetic golfer’ who won the 2018 World Disabled Golf Championship, participated as an invited player but finished last with 42 over par 114 strokes.

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