Jeon In-ji's Revival Shot "Did You See the 8-Under Par?"... Defending Champ Koda Starts at 1-Under Par

Third Major of the Season KPMG Women's PGA Championship First Day Leader, Arim Kim and Cupcho at 1 Under Par, Jin Young Ko and In Bi Park Even Par

Jeon In-ji is smiling brightly after shooting 8 under par on the first day of the third major of the season, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, finishing in the lead. Bethesda (USA) = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the revival shot of Jeon In-ji (28), the ‘Flying Dumbo’.

On the 24th (Korean time), at the Blue Course (par 72, 6,894 yards) of Congressional Golf Club in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, the third major of this season’s LPGA Tour, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (total prize money $9 million), Jeon In-ji fired an 8-under-par on the first day to dominate the top of the leaderboard. As of 5:40 a.m., rookie Choi Hye-jin (23) is in 2nd place (3-under), Hinako Shibuno (Japan) is tied for 3rd (2-under), and Kim A-rim (27) is among those tied for 7th (1-under 71 strokes) in pursuit.

Jeon In-ji collected 9 birdies (1 bogey). She made her first birdie at the 11th hole (par 5) and recorded four consecutive birdies from the 15th to the 18th holes, reducing 5 strokes in the front nine. In the back nine, after a bogey at the 1st hole (par 4), she made three consecutive birdies from the 2nd to the 4th holes, followed by a birdie at the 7th hole (par 3), distancing herself from her competitors. She achieved a 100% fairway hit rate and relied on 25 ‘stingy putts’ as her driving force. Leading by 5 strokes, she is on course for her 4th career win, her first in 3 years and 8 months since winning the 2018 KEB Hana Bank Championship.

Jeon In-ji secured her ‘LPGA Tour direct ticket’ by winning the US Women’s Open in July 2015 as a non-member. She collected trophies by winning the major Evian Championship in September 2016 and the KEB Hana Bank Championship two years later. Since then, she has been frustrated without a win. This year, she has participated in 13 tournaments with only one top-10 finish. At the HSBC Women’s in March, she led until the third round but was overtaken by Ko Jin-young (27) and settled for a tie for 2nd place.

Defending champion Nelly Korda (USA) recorded 3 birdies and 2 bogeys, tying for 7th place. This group also includes last week’s winner Jennifer Kupcho (USA), Brooke Henderson (Canada), and Nasa Hataoka (Japan). ‘Number 1’ Ko Jin-young exchanged 3 birdies for 3 bogeys and is tied for 18th place (even par 72). Golf legends Park In-bi (34), who built a three-peat from 2013 to 2015, and Kim Se-young (29) are also in this group.

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