Rookie Choi Hye-jin "First Win GO"... Korda 'Title Defense'

At Meyer Classic, '11 Attempts, 12th Time's the Charm' Challenge, Henderson Aims for 2nd Consecutive Win, Korea Joins with Park In-bi, Kim Se-young, and Yoo So-yeon

Rookie Choi Hye-jin challenges for her first victory at the Meyer Classic.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Rookie Choi Hye-jin (23) is set for a victorious start.

On the night of the 16th (Korean time), at Blyderfield Golf Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA (par 72, 6,638 yards), she aims for the top spot at the LPGA Tour Meijer Classic (total prize money $2.5 million). Choi Hye-jin won the Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards on the Korean LPGA (KLPGA) Tour in 2018, followed by multiple wins, leading money winner, scoring average leader, and Player of the Year in 2019, and Player of the Year for three consecutive years through 2020. After going through the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series last December, she moved to the United States this year.

True to her dominance on the domestic stage, she is also sailing smoothly on the LPGA Tour. She has shown consistency by finishing in the ‘Top 10’ six times in 11 tournaments, and recently demonstrated near-winning form by placing 3rd at the Lotte Championship in April and the major US Women’s Open on the 2nd. Last week at the ShopRite Classic, she tied for 17th place. Her power comes from an average driving distance of 266.59 yards (ranked 33rd), a fairway hit rate of 80.08% (28th), and a greens in regulation rate of 75.59% (4th).

Choi Hye-jin ranks 3rd in prize money ($1,124,240), 7th in scoring average (69.89), 8th in the CME Globe Race (1,069 points), and 12th in Player of the Year standings (40 points). Most notably, she has pushed ‘JTBC Classic champ’ Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) to 2nd place (635 points) and risen to 1st place among rookies this year (647 points). A victory would widen the gap with Thitikul even further. While she said, “I’m happy to be rookie number one,” she also added, “I won’t be too satisfied and will stay focused until the end of the season.”

Defending champion Nelly Korda is eyeing a consecutive win at the Meijer Classic.

‘Number 2’ Nelly Korda (USA) is aiming for back-to-back wins. This comes after overcoming thrombosis and returning to the field after four months. She showed she hasn’t lost her touch by finishing tied for 8th in her comeback event, the US Women’s Open. 2019 champion Brooke Henderson (Canada) is a strong contender for the title, riding high after securing her 11th career win at the ShopRite Classic. South Korea is represented by ‘Golf Queen’ Park In-bee (34), along with 2016 champion Kim Se-young (29) and 2018 champion Yoo So-yeon (32), among others.

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