Song Ga-eun "I watched the replay of my win and saw that my scores came out well"

Hana Financial Group Championship 1R 5-Under Par Surge
Exciting Streak Since First Win at This Tournament in 2021
Rookie of the Year Says "Tomorrow I'll Attack with Control Shots"

“Watching the replay of my winning moment on TV boosted my confidence.”

This is the story of Song Ga-eun, the 2021 Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour Rookie of the Year. On the 21st, she fired a 5-under-par 67 in the first round of the Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money 1.5 billion KRW) held at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon (par 72, 6,712 yards), taking the top spot on the leaderboard. She is tied for the lead along with Lee So-young and Park Hyun-kyung. Song Ga-eun has not won since her second victory at the Daebo House D Open in July last year, which was over a year ago.

Song Ga-eun is reading the putting line on the 3rd hole of the first round at the Hana Financial Group Championship.
[Photo by KLPGA]

Song Ga-eun said with a bright smile, “Actually, I missed the cut in this tournament last year, so I didn’t have high expectations. But yesterday, they aired the 2021 tournament playoff replay on TV, and watching it boosted my confidence.” At that time, she gained attention by defeating ‘world star’ Minjee Lee (Australia), who was ranked 7th in the world, in the playoff. Song Ga-eun has been frustrated this year due to lackluster results. She explained, “Lately, my performance hasn’t been good, so I felt discouraged and my confidence dropped. But watching the moment I won in the playoff made me realize I used to be that bold, which gave me confidence.”

The 2021 tournament that Song Ga-eun won was held at Adonis Country Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, but last year and this year it moved to Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon. She said, “Bears Best is a long course, so it’s challenging,” but added, “Having experienced it last year, good memories came back this year, so I played confidently.” Song Ga-eun has temporarily set aside her desire to reclaim the winner’s trophy. She said, “My goal is to finish in the ‘top 10’ first,” adding, “It looks like the wind will pick up from tomorrow. I will target the greens with controlled shots that are less affected by the wind.”

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