Park Gyeol 'Two-Day Leader'... "Distance Increased, Iron Accuracy Improved"

Park Gyeol Leads KLPGA Championship 2nd Round by 1 Stroke
235m Driving Distance "Thanks to Last Winter's Physical Training"

‘Beauty Golfer’ Park Gyeol is on a thrilling winning streak.

On the 28th, Park Gyeol added 2 under par in the second round of the 2023 KLPGA Tour’s first major, the Chris F&C 45th KLPGA Championship (total prize money 1.3 billion KRW), held at the Lakewood Country Club’s Mountain Path and Forest Path courses in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,570 yards). She surged ahead to a one-stroke lead (7 under par 137). Although she exchanged one birdie and one bogey over 10 holes without significantly lowering her score, she maintained her position at the top of the leaderboard with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on holes 11 and 13.

Park Gyeol is teeing off at the 4th hole during the second round of the major KLPGA Championship.
[Photo by KLPGA]

Park Gyeol is a star player representing the KLPGA Tour. She won a gold medal in the individual event and a silver medal in the team event at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. In November of the same year, she topped the KLPGA Tour qualifying school. She steadily gained popularity with consistent performances until 2017, and achieved her first career victory at the 2018 SK Networks·Seoul Economic Daily Ladies Classic.

After collecting the winner’s trophies, her performance declined. She had her worst season in 2021. Out of 28 tournaments, she only made one ‘top 10’ finish. She ranked 69th in the prize money standings and lost her regular tour card. However, she returned to the first division tour by placing 27th in the qualifying school. Finishing last season ranked 45th in the prize money rankings, Park Gyeol changed her main sponsor, clothing sponsor, club, and caddie. She focused on physical training last winter, signaling a comeback.

Park Gyeol led the leaderboard for two consecutive days in a major tournament. This is her second career win opportunity since her victory at the 2018 SK Networks·Seoul Economic Daily Ladies Classic. Park said, “My driving distance has increased. When I hit far, it seems to go up to 235 meters.” She added, “Last year, I struggled because my green hit rate dropped. I practiced mainly iron shots last winter, so now I can stick the ball close to the pin.”

Park revealed, “If it rains tomorrow, it will be very tough, so I plan to focus on keeping the fairway first. I don’t intend to be too aggressive.” She stated, “My goal is always to win. It would be great to win, but I won’t be too obsessed with it.”

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