Total Prize Money 1.5 Billion Won 'Minji Competition'... "Who Will Be Stronger?"

Pride Clash at Hana Financial Group Championship: '2nd Prize' Jang Hana Competes for Victory, Lydia Ko and No Ye-rim Join as 'LPGA Members'

'Korea's No. 1' Park Min-ji (left) and 'Evian Champ' Lee Min-ji will face off in a battle of pride at the Hana Financial Group Championship.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Minji Battle’.

The pride clash between ‘Korea’s No. 1’ Park Min-ji (23, NH Investment & Securities) and ‘Evian Champ’ Lee Min-ji (Australia). The Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money 1.5 billion KRW), part of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, kicks off on the 30th at Adonis Golf Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 71, 6,480 yards). This is the second Ladies Asian Tour series event this year following the DB Group Korea Women’s Open in June. The defending champion is Anna Lin (25, Moon Young Group).

Park Min-ji and Lee Min-ji are facing off for the first time in 22 months since the 2019 event tournament Orange Life Champions Trophy Park In-bi Invitational. Park Min-ji is the dominant player on the KLPGA Tour this season. She has swept up six wins, including the major Korea Women’s Open. She ranks first in wins, prize money (1,333,310,000 KRW), and points for the Player of the Year (556 points), and second in scoring average (69.98) and top 10 finish rate (61.11%).

In the last two tournaments, she finished tied for 6th and tied for 4th. Her driving force is her ‘needle-like iron shots’ ranked 3rd in greens in regulation (78.47%) and ‘stingy putting’ ranked 9th in average putts (29.88). The winner’s prize money for this tournament is 270 million KRW, and if she wins, she will be the first in KLPGA Tour history to surpass 1.6 billion KRW in a single season. However, she withdrew from the tournament after straining her back during a practice round before the OK Savings Bank Park Se-ri Invitational two weeks ago. Recovery from injury and form will be key to her victory.

Lee Min-ji, sponsored by Hana Financial Group, is ranked 9th in the world. She claimed her first major title at the LPGA Tour’s Evian Championship in July and has six career wins. She ranks 3rd in prize money this year (1,338,709 USD) and 5th in Player of the Year points (96 points). She has shown a sharp rise in form, finishing in the top 5 four times in her last five tournaments. After finishing tied for 2nd at last week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, she boarded a plane.

'Second in prize money' Jang Hana challenges for victory at the Hana Financial Group Championship after two years.

Jang Ha-na (29, BC Card), the 2019 champion and ‘2nd in prize money,’ is a strong contender for the title. Two-time champion Lee So-mi (22, SBI), ‘3rd in prize money’ Park Hyun-kyung (21, Korea Land & Trust), and ‘El Cru Champion’ Yoo Hae-ran (20, SK Networks) are determined to defend their home turf. LPGA Tour members including Lydia Ko (New Zealand), ranked 6th in the world, and No Ye-rim (USA) have joined the field. Ten players from Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, including Thailand’s second-highest prize money earner Sirinan Santiwiwatthanaphong, have also come to compete in Korea.

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