"Marathon Classic is Great"… Taegeuk Nangja 'This is the Land of Promise'

Korean Women’s Golf Achieves 12 Wins in 23 Years at Marathon Classic
Since 1998 Park Seri, Champions Include Yoo Soyun, Kim Inkyeong, Kim Seyoung
17 Players Compete This Year… Kim Seyoung’s First Win in 3 Years, Choi Hyejin’s Rematch for Runner-Up

Park Seri swept an impressive 5 victories at the Marathon Classic.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Strong in a specific tournament.

For the Taegeuk ladies, the Marathon Classic is a "promised tournament." Since Park Seri (45) won in 1998, Korean players have combined for 12 victories over 23 years until last year (the tournament was not held in 2011). That is more than half of the total wins. Park Seri (45) swept an impressive 5 wins (1998?1999, 2001, 2003, 2007). Kim Mi-hyun (45) in 2006, Lee Eun-jung (34) in 2009, Choi Na-yeon (35) in 2010, Yoo So-yeon in 2012, Choi Woon-jung (both 32) in 2015, Kim In-kyung (34) in 2017, and Kim Se-young (29) in 2019 also collected the winner’s trophies.

Lee Eun-jung and Choi Woon-jung achieved their first career wins at this tournament. Including Korean-American players Lydia Ko (New Zealand, 2014, 2016) and Danielle Kang (USA, 2020), it is clear how much Korean-descended players have dominated this event. This year, from September 2nd for four days, the competition will take place at Highland Meadows Golf Club (par 71, 6,598 yards) in Sylvania, Ohio, USA, with a total prize money of $1.75 million. Among the 144 players, 17 are Korean.

Kim Se-young leads the charge. She aims for her first win of the season and her first title in three years. Three years ago, Kim Se-young won this tournament with an impressive 22-under-par score. Since then, after winning the Tour Championship in November of the same year, the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in October 2020, and the Pelican Women’s Championship in November, she has been struggling without a title. It has been nearly two years since her 12th career win, causing frustration. Her tied 9th place finish at last week’s CP Women’s Open is encouraging as it changes the momentum.

Kim In-kyung, Yoo So-yeon, and Choi Na-yeon are all eyeing their second wins at this tournament. Lotte Championship champion Kim Hyo-joo (27) from April and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship champion Jeon In-ji (28) from June also dream of multiple wins. It is a chance for Choi Hye-jin (23), runner-up at the CP Women’s Open, to seek revenge. Defending champion Hataoka Nasa (Japan) is aiming for back-to-back titles. Other contenders include Lydia Ko, Danielle Kang, three-time champion Jennifer Kupcho (USA), and last month’s major Evian Championship winner Brooke Henderson (Canada).

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