Yoon Ina and Choi Min-kyung, who were pushed by Park Hyun-kyung, take the lead with 8 under par on the first day of Lotte Open
Yoon Ina and Choi Min-kyung, who were pushed by Park Hyun-kyung, take the lead with 8 under par on the first day of Lotte Open
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Yoon Ina (21) and Choi Min-kyung (31) swung their clubs fiercely together on the first day of the Lotte Open (total prize
money of 1.2 billion won) of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour.
Yoon Ina and Choi Min-kyung shot an 8-under 64 with 8 birdies and no bogeys in the first round of the tournament held
at the Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club USA/Australia Course (par 72) in Incheon on the 4th.
They tied for first place, one stroke ahead of Bang Shin-sil (7-under 65), who was in sole third place.
Yoon Ina and Choi Min-kyung have something in common: they recently competed for the championship in a competition
and then gave up the trophy to 카지노사이트모음 Park Hyun-kyung.
Yoon Ina finished second in the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup two weeks ago after a fourth-round extension, and Choi
Min-kyung finished tied for third, two strokes behind, at the McCall-Mona Yongpyong Open last week.
Park Hyun-kyung, who won both tournaments, also set a record by becoming the first player in KLPGA Tour history to win
two consecutive playoff tournaments.
Park Hyun-kyung, who has won for three consecutive weeks, tied for 13th place (4-under 68) with five birdies and one
bogey on this day.
Yoon has finished in the top 10 five times in 12 tournaments since returning from her travel ban, including two runner-up
finishes. She withdrew from the McCall-Mona Yongpyong Open last week with shoulder soreness.
Yoon Ina, who finished the game that day, said, "I couldn't hit a ball for four days after withdrawing due to a shoulder
injury," but added, "I like this course so much that I think I was able to make good shots despite my poor condition."
Regarding the runner-up finish in the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup, she said, "I don't think I missed out on winning.
Park Hyun-kyung did well and I did my best, but the results didn't follow." She added, "I played each game with a grateful
heart, so I think I finished well today as well."
Min-Kyung Choi, who debuted on the regular tour in 2014, has yet to win.
But the trend is good this year.
He has already set a new record for the most prize money in a season (266.27 million won) after making it to the top 10
three times in 14 competitions in the first half of the year.
Choi Min-kyung said, "I think my concentration is much better than last year," and "As my desire to win has grown, I feel
like I really want to grab the opportunity when it comes."
However, he said, "If you do well in the first round, you get greedy and it seems like you performed poorly on the last day,
but I think you need to empty your mind every day."
Min-kyung Choi also tied for second place (6 under par) in the first round of the McCall-Mona Yongpyong Open, but only
managed to reduce her score by one stroke in the second round.
Choi Min-kyung recalled, "Actually, I thought the second round would be the last because there was a lot of rain on the last
day," and added, "I played like I was in the champion group on the second day, but as expected, I made a lot of putting
mistakes."
On this day, Bang Shin-sil had one eagle and five birdies through the 13th hole, but in the subsequent birdie opportunities,
her putts continued to miss the hole, leading to a par streak.
Bang Shin-sil, who made four consecutive birdies on holes 5 through 8, said, "The pin position was set forward, so it wasn't
hard to make birdies," and expressed regret, saying, "I had more birdie opportunities in the latter half of the game, but I
missed about three of them."
Lee Ga-young, Kim Hee-ji, and Lim Hee-jung tied for 4th place (6-under 66), while Park Joo-young, Lee Ju-mi, Yoo
Hyeon-jo, Lee Da-yeon, Kim Su-ji, and Choi Ye-rim tied for 7th place (5-under 67).
Choi Hye-jin and Kim Hyo-joo, who went on an expedition to the KLPGA Tour, could not avoid a slump.
Last year's winner, Choi Hye-jin, finished tied for 44th (1-under 71) with four birdies, one bogey, and one double bogey.
Choi Hye-jin looked back and said, "Because my alignment was off, my shots went too far to the right. Still, I'm glad I got
my feel for it little by little in the second half."
Kim Hyo-joo is tied for 65th with one birdie and one bogey at even par.
Kim Hyo-joo, who was in the same group as Park Ji-young (1 under par) and Park Min-ji (1 over par), said, "We jokingly
said, 'Why is it only our group that's like this? Let's all submit our scores and meet on the (practice) green,'" and added, "In
the first half, my shot timing wasn't right and I was disappointed with my putts all day."