Kim Hyo-joo Tied 2nd After 1st Round at Pelican Championship... Will She End LPGA 14-Match Winless Streak?

6-under 64, Tied 2nd Place, 2 Shots Behind Leader Maria Fassi
Hong Ye-eun Tied 7th · Jeon In-ji Tied 13th for a Smooth Start

Kim Hyo-joo

[Asia Economy Reporter Seohee Lee] Kim Hyo-joo (27) has seized the opportunity to break the record of '14 consecutive winless matches' by Korean players on the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.

On the 11th (local time), Kim Hyo-joo shot a 6-under-par 64 with seven birdies and one bogey in the first round of the LPGA Tour Pelican Women's Championship (total prize money $2 million) held at Pelican Golf Club (par 70) in Belleair, Florida, USA. She is tied for 2nd place with Tiffany Chan (Hong Kong), Lexi Thompson (USA), and Carlota Ciganda (Spain). She is two strokes behind the leader Maria Fassi (Mexico).

Kim Hyo-joo started off well from the front nine. She made her first birdie on the 3rd hole (par 3), followed by stepping-stone birdies on the 5th hole (par 4) and 7th hole (par 5). Although she made a bogey on the 10th hole (par 4), she succeeded in reducing six strokes in total by making three consecutive birdies from the 12th to the 14th holes and another birdie on the 17th hole (par 4).

Korean women's golf has not reported a win on the LPGA Tour since Jeon In-ji (28) lifted the trophy at the major 'KPMG Women's PGA Championship' in June. The winless streak continued as well at the Toto Japan Classic held on the 6th. The 14 consecutive winless matches on the LPGA Tour are on the verge of breaking the all-time longest record of 17 matches.

Ranked 9th in the world, Kim Hyo-joo is challenging for her second win of the season this week after achieving her fifth LPGA Tour victory at the Lotte Championship last April.

'Rookie' Hong Ye-eun (20) also recorded a 5-under-par 65 with seven birdies and two bogeys, placing her tied for 7th.

Jeon In-ji (28), who had been absent for a while due to injury, tied for 13th with a 4-under-par 66, recording five birdies and one bogey. Ko Jin-young (27), who lost her world No. 1 ranking, finished tied for 40th with a 1-under-par 69.

Meanwhile, due to the impact of tropical typhoon 'Nicole,' the first day of the tournament was canceled, and the event will be shortened to a 54-hole competition.

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