As Korean Women’s Golf Stalls, LPGA Enters the 'Chunqoo Jeonguk Era'

Korea Has 14 Winless Matches Before or After June with 2 Season Tournaments Left
Canada, South Africa, Japan, UK, New Zealand, Thailand, Australia Accumulate Wins

Korean women's golf is on the verge of breaking the longest record of 17 consecutive winless matches, currently standing at 14 matches without a victory on the LPGA Tour since Jeon In-ji's win in June. The photo shows Jeon In-ji holding the trophy at the time of her June victory.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] As the slump of Korean female golf players continues, it seems that the Warring States period has arrived in the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour. While American players have secured 7 wins, the vacancies left by Korean players are being filled by Thailand, South Africa, and others.

Korean women's golf has not reported any LPGA Tour victories since Jeon In-ji (28) lifted the trophy at the major tournament, the 'KPMG Women's PGA Championship,' in June. They also failed to break the winless streak at the Toto Japan Classic held on the 6th. With 14 consecutive LPGA Tour events without a win, they are on the verge of breaking the all-time longest record of 17 events.

Last year, the LPGA Tour was dominated by a two-power system of Korean and American players, each securing 7 wins. Thailand, with 4 wins, was the only somewhat threatening contender.

However, this season, Korean players have only achieved four wins. Although they still rank second in the number of wins after the U.S., the atmosphere is clearly different. Korean players, especially in the second half of the year, have not added a single win, experiencing a simultaneous slump.

Meanwhile, players from other countries have shown remarkable progress. Thai players, with 2 wins, have slowed compared to last year, but a total of 7 countries including ▲the United Kingdom ▲Canada ▲Australia ▲Japan ▲South Africa ▲New Zealand have shared 2 wins each.

Looking at the winners this season, it seems likely that this trend will continue next year.

This season on the LPGA Tour, 11 players have enjoyed the glory of their first career win. Their nationalities are diverse, spanning 9 countries. This ties the record set in 1995 for the most first-time winners on the LPGA Tour. On the other hand, no Korean player has experienced their first career win this year. Choi Hye-jin (23) and An Na-rin (26) have shown good performance in their debut stages but have yet to claim a trophy.

The dominant analysis is that this trend is largely due to the overall leveling up of skill among female golfers worldwide.

This year, 14 countries have produced winners on the LPGA. Last year, winners came from 12 countries on the LPGA Tour. South Africa (Ashley Bouchard, Paula Reto) and Sweden (Maja Stark) produced their first winners.

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