Lee Jeong-eun 6 Revival Mode "Fresh Start with 3 Under Par"... Suzuki and Ueda Joint Leaders at 7 Under Par

Lee Jeong-eun 6 and An Nirin, Bae Seon-woo TOTO Japan Classic First Day Tied 10th
Furue and Koiwai Tied 3rd, Yamashita 5th 'Japan's Strong Presence'
Choi Hye-jin, Shin Ji-ae, Shin Ji-eun Tied 18th, Titikun Tied 30th

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Jeong-eun6 Lee (26, photo) is in revival mode.

Jeong-eun6 Lee scored 3-under par on the first day of the Toto Japan Classic (total prize money $2 million) held at the Seta Golf Course (par 72, 6,616 yards) in Shiga, Japan on the 3rd, placing tied for 10th. Ai Suzuki and Momoko Ueda share the lead (7-under 65), Ayaka Furue and Sakura Koiwai are tied for 3rd (6-under 66), and Miyu Yamashita (all from Japan) are in 5th place (5-under 67).

The Toto Japan Classic is an LPGA Tour event held in Japan for the first time in three years since 2019. For the past two years, it was held solely as a Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour event. This year, a total of 78 players participated, including 42 from the LPGA Tour and 36 from the JLPGA Tour. The winner will be decided over 72 holes of stroke play without a cut over four days. The winner's prize money is $300,000 (approximately 430 million KRW).

Jeong-eun6 Lee recorded five birdies and two bogeys. She reduced three strokes in the front nine with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 5) and consecutive birdies on the 6th and 7th holes. In the back nine, she gained momentum with a birdie on the 11th hole (par 4), faltered with bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes, but changed the atmosphere with a birdie on the 16th hole (par 5). She is four strokes behind the leader, a position from which a comeback is definitely possible.

Jeong-eun6 Lee moved to the LPGA Tour in 2019, winning the U.S. Women's Open and earning Rookie of the Year honors, but has not won since. This year, she has played in 20 tournaments but missed the cut three times, ranking 53rd in the money list ($453,529). However, last week at the KLPGA Tour SK Networks·Seoul Economic Daily Ladies Classic, she competed for the win and finished tied for 6th. She is gradually regaining her former form.

Suzuki showed perfect play, sweeping up seven birdies without a bogey. Japanese players are dominating, with eight names in the 'top 10.' Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), who recently overtook Ko Jin-young (27) to become world No. 1, is tied for 30th (1-under 71). Minjee Lee (Australia) is tied for 46th (even par 72).

Korea's Anna Lin (26) and Seonwoo Bae (28) joined the tied 10th group. Hye-jin Choi (23), Jiae Shin (34), and Jieun Shin (30) are tied for 18th (2-under 70). On the other hand, Min-young Lee (30) and Areum Hwang (35) are tied for 55th (1-over 73), Woonjung Choi (32) tied for 64th (2-over 74), and Mijeong Jeon (40) tied for 71st (3-over 75), showing disappointing results.

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