Kim Se-young "Again 2019"... Park In-bi '2nd Victory Challenge'

At Sponsor Mediheal Championship, 'Title Defense' by Lydia Ko and Tawatthanakit as 'Dark Horses', Ko Jin-young and Lee Jeong-eun 6 on 'Rest'

Kim Se-young attempted to defend her title at the Mediheal Championship.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Again 2019’.

This is Kim Se-young’s (28, Mediheal) title defense match. It takes place on the night of the 10th (Korean time) at the Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, California, USA (par 72, 6,551 yards) during the LPGA Tour Mediheal Championship (total prize money $1.5 million). This tournament is hosted by the global cosmetic brand Mediheal, which has newly sponsored the event starting this year. Last year, the tournament was postponed due to COVID-19, and she is participating as the defending champion.

Kim Se-young debuted on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour in 2011, winning five times before joining the LPGA Tour in 2015. She is nicknamed the ‘Queen of Comebacks’ and the ‘Wizard of Red Pants.’ In her first year on the LPGA Tour, she won three times and earned the Rookie of the Year award. In 2019, she notably won the season-ending Tour Championship, hitting the ‘$1.5 million (about 1.67 billion KRW) jackpot.’ Last year, she became her first ‘Major Queen’ by winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

She then won the Pelican Women’s Championship consecutively, earning the ‘Player of the Year’ award. With a total of 12 LPGA Tour wins, she ranks third among Korean players behind Park Se-ri (44, retired, 25 wins) and Park In-bi (33, KB Financial Group, 21 wins). She is currently ranked 3rd in the world and is highly likely to participate in the Tokyo Olympics this July. She is reminiscing about the memories of 2019. It was the ‘Promised Land’ where she clinched the winning birdie after a playoff against Lee Jeong-eun6 (25, Daebang Construction) and Bronte Law (England).

This year, she has played in nine tournaments with three top-10 finishes. In April, she tied for 3rd at the season’s first major, the ANA Inspiration, and tied for 2nd at the Lotte Championship the same month. She ranks 13th in earnings ($467,759) and scoring average (70.17). Her driving distance averages 268.78 yards (16th), greens in regulation rate is 73.89% (13th), and putts per hole when on the green is 1.77 (18th), which are her driving forces. She vowed, “I will try to revive the good memories from two years ago.”

Park In-bee challenges for her second win of the season at the Mediheal Championship.

It is the hunt for two wins by the ‘Golf Empress’ Park In-bi. She secured her first win of the year and her 21st career victory early in March at the Kia Classic. She has shown a clear upward trend, entering the top 10 in the last three consecutive tournaments. Last week, she performed well at the major US Women’s Open, finishing tied for 7th, the best among Korean players. She finished tied for 31st in the inaugural 2018 event and tied for 23rd in 2019, which fell short of expectations. ‘HSBC Women’s Champ’ Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte) has joined the field.

Yoo So-yeon (31) and KLPGA member Lee Da-yeon (24, both Mediheal) are dreaming of winning at their sponsor’s tournament. ‘Number 1’ Ko Jin-young (26), Lee Jeong-eun6, Park Sung-hyun (28), and Jeon In-ji (27, KB Financial Group) have chosen to rest. The inaugural champion Lydia Ko (New Zealand) is a ‘dark horse.’ ‘ANA Champ’ Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand) and ‘LA Open Champ’ Brooke Henderson (Canada) are aiming for their second wins. For Law, this is a rematch to avenge the disappointment from two years ago.

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