Seung-yeon Lee's 8-Under Par Thrill: "I Have to Play Well at the Sponsor's Tournament"

SK Networks 1R Lee Chae-eun2 Tied for Lead
Yoo Seo-yeon2 3rd, Park Hyun-kyung 4th, Lee Ye-won 8th
Hwang Yu-min 15th, Bang Shin-sil 26th, Lee So-mi 71st

Lee Seung-yeon has begun her march toward victory at the sponsor's tournament.

On the 26th, she fired an 8-under-par 64 in the first round of the SK Networks·Seoul Economic Ladies Classic (total prize money 800 million KRW) held at Pinx Golf Club in Seogwipo, Jeju (par 72, 6,748 yards), taking the top spot on the leaderboard. Lee Chae-eun2 is tied for first place, Yoo Seo-yeon2 is in third place (6-under-par 66), and Park Hyun-kyung, Kim Ji-hyun, Choi Eun-woo, and Hong Jin-young2 are among four players tied for fourth place (5-under-par 67).

Lee Seung-yeon is making an iron shot at the 3rd hole of the 1st round of the SK Networks·Seoul Economic Ladies Classic.
[Photo by KLPGA]

Lee Seung-yeon is a fifth-year player who debuted on the KLPGA Tour in 2019. Despite her petite stature at 160 cm, she is known as one of the longest hitters. In 2021, she ranked first in the long drive category. Although she proved her skills by winning the Nexen·Saintnine Masters as a rookie, she had not lifted a winner’s trophy for over four years. On this day, she missed the green only twice, averaging 1.5 putts per hole. She took a two-stroke lead to share first place, laying the groundwork for a victory at the sponsor’s tournament.

Right after the round, Lee Seung-yeon said, "My shots were good, but I also hardly missed any putts when the ball was close to the pin," adding, "The greens are in good condition, so I could trust and play the line as I calculated." She continued, "I wasn’t feeling well because of a cold, so I was worried about playing well in the main sponsor’s tournament," and expressed joy, saying, "Maybe my earnest feelings came through, and I played well."

Lee Ye-won, who is leading in prize money, points for the Player of the Year, and average score, started comfortably tied for eighth place, four strokes behind (4-under-par 68). Lee Se-hee, Noh Seung-hee, and Son Ye-bin are also in this group. Including Lim Jin-hee, who became the inaugural champion at last week’s Sangsangin·Korea Economic TV Open, Hwang Yu-min and Lee So-young are tied for 15th place (3-under-par 69), while Sung Yoo-jin and Bang Shin-sil are tied for 26th place (2-under-par 70). Defending champion Lee So-mi is struggling, tied for 71st place (1-over-par 73).

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