Lee Jeong-eun6 "5 Under Par Tied 6th"... 'Number 2' Korda "Even Par Tied 63rd"

LPGA Drive On Championship Day 1: Hataoka and Alex Tied for Lead, Hong Ye-eun 12th, Park In-bi 34th

Lee Jeong-eun 6 surged with a 5-under par on the first day of the LPGA Drive On Championship, entering the race for the title.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘2019 Rookie of the Year’ Lee Jeong-eun6 (26, Daebang Construction) has made a refreshing start.

On the 4th (Korean time), at the Crown Colony Golf Club in Fort Myers, Florida, USA (par 72, 6,526 yards), the first day of the 3rd event of the 2022 LPGA Tour season, the LPGA Drive On Championship (total prize money $1.5 million), she shot 5 under par to tie for 6th place. Nasa Hataoka (Japan) and Marina Alex (USA) share the lead at 7 under par 65, while Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand) and Leona Maguire (Ireland) are tied for 3rd at 6 under par 66.

Lee Jeong-eun6 made six birdies and one bogey. She lost the birdie at the 5th hole (par 5) with a bogey at the 6th hole (par 4), but changed the momentum with a birdie at the 9th hole (par 5). In the back nine, she made consecutive birdies at the 11th and 12th holes, followed by a birdie at the 14th hole (par 3) and finished with a birdie at the 18th hole (par 5), ending the day on a high note. She reduced her score with powerful drives averaging 270 yards. She missed the fairway and green four times each, and had 29 putts during the round.

She is two strokes behind the co-leaders, and this is her chance for her second career win after a long 2 years and 6 months since winning the major US Women’s Open in June 2019. Lee Jeong-eun6 debuted on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour in 2016, winning Rookie of the Year, and in 2017 she won four times, becoming the ‘Money Queen’ as well as the first player ever to win six titles including most wins, Player of the Year, and lowest scoring average. After achieving back-to-back ‘Money Queen’ titles in 2018, she topped the Qualifying (Q) Series to enter the US stage.

In her debut year on the LPGA in 2019, she dominated by winning the US Women’s Open and was named Rookie of the Year. However, in 2020, due to COVID-19, she stayed in Korea and joined the LPGA Tour late, playing only five events. Last year, she played 24 tournaments and made eight top-10 finishes but did not win. Her best result was runner-up at the major Amundi Evian Championship in July. After warming up with a tie for 57th at last week’s Gainbridge LPGA, she is eyeing the win at this tournament.

Hataoka Nasa is teeing off at the 16th hole on the first day of the LPGA Drive On Championship.

Hataoka dominated the leaderboard with eight birdies and one bogey. This is her sixth career win, her first in five months since the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last September. Alex also joined the win race with a perfect round of seven birdies and no bogeys. She is the only winner of the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic. On the other hand, ‘Number 2’ Nelly Korda (USA) exchanged four birdies for four bogeys, finishing tied for 63rd at even par 72.

Among Koreans, rookie Hong Ye-eun (20, CJ O Shopping) is progressing well, tied for 12th at 4 under par 68. She is a promising player who proved her competitiveness by finishing 12th in the Q-Series after playing on the LPGA Symetra (2nd tier) Tour. She finished tied for 40th in her debut last week. Park Hee-young (35, Isu Group) is tied for 12th, Park In-bee (34) and Jeon In-ji (28, both KB Financial Group) are tied for 34th at 2 under par 70, and Choi Hye-jin (23, Lotte) and An Na-rin (26, Mediheal) are tied for 51st at 1 under par 71.

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