Minji Park 7 Under Par "Going for 2 Consecutive Wins"... Kim Minju with '7 Consecutive Birdies' and 2 Others Tied for 2nd Place

On the First Day of the Celltrion Queens Masters, Leading by One Stroke, Jo Ah-yeon and Lee Ye-won Tied for 5th, Jang Ha-na Tied for 29th

Defending champion Park Min-ji is hitting an iron shot on the 13th hole on the first day of the Celltrion Queens Masters. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Domestic No. 1’ Park Min-ji (24·NH Investment & Securities) is on her way to a second consecutive victory.

On the 10th, at the Cellturion Queens Masters (total prize money 1 billion KRW) of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour held at Seolhaewon The Legend Course (par 72·6,633 yards) in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, she surged with a 7-under-par on the first day to top the leaderboard. Kim Min-ju (20·Yuhan Yanghang), Kwak Bo-mi (30·MG Saemaeul Geumgo), and Bae So-yeon (29·DSLC) tied for 2nd place (6-under-par 66), while ‘Kyochon Champ’ Jo Ah-yeon (22·Dongbu Construction) and a total of seven players shared 5th place (5-under-par 67).

Park Min-ji recorded 9 birdies and 2 bogeys. She created momentum with three consecutive birdies from holes 10 to 12, a birdie on the 14th hole (par 5), and then four consecutive birdies from holes 16 to 1. Although she faltered briefly with consecutive bogeys on holes 5 and 6, she finished on a high note with a birdie on the 9th hole (par 4), promising a good second round. Leading by one stroke, she secured another chance to defend her title since her second consecutive win at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship on the 15th of last month. This year, she has entered the ‘top 10’ four times, including one win, in seven tournaments.

“So many birdies came early on that I even thought, ‘Why am I like this?’” said Park Min-ji. “I felt like all the birdie putts I missed in the last tournament were going in this time,” she cheered. “I don’t think I’ve ever shot 30 strokes over 9 holes, but 29 strokes is a first,” she added. She continued, “Today, the pin positions were easy, and the greens were soft, but tomorrow the pin positions are expected to be tougher,” and humbly said, “If I were leading after the second round, I might be thinking about winning, but the first round is just over.”

Kim Min-ju made a stunning run with birdies on holes 1 through 7. Seven consecutive birdies is a rare record that has only happened four times so far on the KLPGA Tour. The record for the most consecutive birdies is eight holes, set by Jo Yoon-ji (32) at the 2015 E1 Charity Open and Ko Jin-young (27) at the 2017 Samdasoo Masters. Kim Min-ju smiled, saying, “My tee shots were well-placed, leaving mostly short distances to directly attack the pin,” and “my putting was also good.”

Jo Ah-yeon is teeing off at the 1st hole on the first day of the Celltrion Queens Masters. Photo by KLPGA

Jo Ah-yeon collected 6 birdies (1 bogey) and joined the competition for her second win of the season. Rookie Lee Ye-won (19·KB Financial Group), who is second in prize money, is also looking for an opportunity in the group tied for 5th place. Jang Ha-na (30·BC Card) is tied for 29th place (2-under-par 70), while Yoo Hae-ran (21·Daol Financial Group), Lim Hee-jung, and Park Hyun-kyung (both 22·Korea Land & Trust) are tied for 43rd place (1-under-par 71). Last week’s Lotte Open champion Sung Yoo-jin (22·Hanwha Q CELLS) finished tied for 81st place (1-over-par 73).

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