Choi Hye-jin "Challenging for the First Palos Champion"... What About 'Number 1' Ko Jin-young?

Victory Bid at New Palos Verdes Championship, Park In-bee and Yoo So-yeon Join, 'LA Champ' Hataoka Takes a Break

Choi Hye-jin challenges to become the inaugural champion at the Palos Verdes Championship.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is Choi Hye-jin's (23, Lotte) challenge to become the inaugural champion.

The Palos Verdes Championship, a newly established event on the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour with a total prize money of $1.5 million, will be held on the 29th (Korean time) at Palos Verdes Golf Club (par 71, 6,450 yards) in Palos Verdes Estates, California, USA. Choi Hye-jin, who has dominated the Korean Women's Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour, is a rookie debuting on the LPGA Tour this year. She has accumulated a total of 10 wins, including 2 as an amateur, on the domestic stage.

In 2018, she swept both the Rookie of the Year and the Grand Prize, and in 2019, she swept major individual titles such as multiple wins, prize money, the Grand Prize, and lowest score, heralding the era of ‘Choi Hye-jin’. In 2020, she also earned the honor of winning the Grand Prize for the third consecutive year. As a non-member, she demonstrated exceptional power on the LPGA Tour. She surprisingly finished as runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open as an amateur. She also finished second at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in February 2020.

After finishing ‘winless’ on the KLPGA Tour last season, she knocked on the door of the U.S. stage to turn the tide. In December last year, she secured a ticket to the U.S. by finishing tied for 8th at the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series. She is evaluated to have successfully landed as a ‘rookie’. She participated in six tournaments, including her debut at the Gainbridge LPGA where she tied for 8th, and entered the ‘top 10’ three times. At the Lotte Championship, which ended on the 17th, she achieved her personal best by finishing 3rd.

Last week, she also tied for 6th at the DIO Implant LA Open. On the final day, she showed remarkable strength by shooting 5 under par. Although she has no wins yet, she is currently second in the Rookie of the Year points (323 points). The ‘JTBC Classic champion’ Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) leads this category with 468 points. Her long drive average of 269.59 yards (28th) and greens in regulation rate of 73.91% (11th) stand out. Experts analyze that "if her clutch putting improves, a victory is possible."

Ko Jin-young aims to restore her honor at the Palos Verdes Championship.

Korea’s ‘number 1’ Ko Jin-young (27) aims to restore her honor. She struggled with a quadruple bogey on the third day and a 4-putt double bogey on the final day at the LA Open, finishing tied for 21st. ‘Golf queen’ Park In-bee (34, KB Financial Group) is eyeing her first win of the season, riding a rising momentum after tying for 3rd last week. Joining them are Yoo So-yeon (32, Mediheal) and Jeon In-ji (28, KB Financial Group). ‘LA Open champion’ Hataoka Nasa (Japan) has chosen to rest.

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