Ko Jin-young 4 Under Par "Looking Forward to Revenge"... Kyriakou Surprises with 6 Under Par Lead

ShopRite Classic Tied 3rd on Opening Day, Lee Jeong-eun 6 and Park Sung-hyun Tied 7th, Defending Champ Boutier 35th, Park In-bee 51st

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young is carefully reading the putting line with her caddie on the 14th hole on the first day of the ShopRite Classic. Callaway, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] World No. 1 Ko Jin-young (27) has made a refreshing start.

On the 11th (Korean time), at the Bay Course (par 71, 6,190 yards) of Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey, USA, Ko Jin-young shot 4-under par on the first day of the LPGA Tour ShopRite Classic (total prize money $1.75 million) to tie for 3rd place. Stephanie Kyriacou (Australia) took a surprising lead with 6-under par 65, followed by Frida Kinhult (Sweden) in 2nd place with 5-under par 66, and Brooke Henderson (Canada) and Marina Alex (USA) tied for 3rd.

Ko Jin-young made five birdies and one bogey. After a birdie on the 10th hole (par 4) was offset by a bogey on the 11th hole (par 3), she made a birdie on the 13th hole (par 4) to finish the front nine at 1-under par. On the back nine, she showed fierce stamina with a birdie on the 4th hole (par 4) followed by consecutive birdies on the 8th and 9th holes, joining the race for the championship. Her fairway hit rate of 85.71% and 26 putts during the round stood out. She is two strokes behind the leader, aiming for her second win of the season after three months since the HSBC Women's World Championship in March.

Ko Jin-young is the ‘Number 1’ who has won a total of 13 titles, including two major championships. She won the Rookie of the Year award in 2018, was the first Korean player to win the money title three consecutive times (2019?2021), and received the Player of the Year award twice (2019, 2021). This year, she has shown an upward trend with four top-5 finishes in seven tournaments. She also finished 4th at last week’s major US Women’s Open, maintaining good form. She is determined to erase the disappointment of finishing runner-up in this tournament last year.

Rookie Stephani Kyriakou is teeing off at the 14th hole on the first day of the ShopRite Classic. Galloway, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Kyriacou displayed flawless play with six birdies and no bogeys. She is a rookie who debuted this year. She has participated in five tournaments but missed the cut three times, with her best finish being a tie for 26th at the Lotte Championship. In Korea, Lee Jeong-eun6 (26, Daebang Construction) and Park Sung-hyun (29) are tied for 7th at 3-under par, and Choi Hye-jin (23, Lotte) is tied for 20th at 2-under par. Park In-bee (34, KB Financial Group), returning after five weeks, finished tied for 51st at even par. Defending champion C?line Boutier (France) is tied for 35th at 1-under par.

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