After 8 years since June 2014
No-title fear due to string injury of key player
▲ So-Yeon Ryu looks at the ball after hitting a tee shot at the Ascendant LPGA Championship at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas, USA on the 3rd (Korea time).
The Colony AFP Yonhap News
On the LPGA Tour in the US, Korean players remained undefeated for the 11th time in the tournament. Koh Jin-young (27) and Jeon In-ji (28), etc., are in a difficult situation to play in the remaining games due to injuries, so it is predicted that the ‘winner drought’ of Korean women’s golf will not be resolved easily.
On the 3rd (Korean time) at the Old American Golf Club (par 71, 6517 yards) in The Colony, Texas, USA, the championship cup of the ‘Ascendant LPGA’ (total prize money of $1.7 million) was won by Charlie Hull (18-under-par 266). 26, returned to England). Yoo So-yeon (32) recorded a final total of 10 under par 274, placing her in a tie for 7th, the highest among Korean players. Yoo So-yeon, who achieved the ‘Top 10’ results in about two and a half months since she tied for 8th at the Amundi Evian Championship in July, said, “It feels good to be in the top 10 for the first time in a long time. It’s a pity, but I’m going to focus on seeing a lot of positive aspects.”
Korean players haven’t been able to climb to the top of 11 LPGA Tour tournaments since Jeon In-ji won the ‘KPMG Women’s PGA Championship’, a major event in late June. It is the first time in over 8 years that a Korean player has not won more than 10 consecutive LPGA Tour championships since October 2013 to June 2014 (17 tournaments). This season, the Korean players combined only four wins on the LPGA Tour. As of the 3rd, the LPGA has five tournaments remaining this season. An official from the golf industry explained, “Star players have suffered rope injuries, and rookies are not performing as expected.”
Lydia Ko (25, New Zealand), who is about to get married in December of this year, ranked third alone with a 16-under 268 shot. Ataya Titikun (19, Thailand), who leads the Rookie of the Year category, is in fourth place alone with a 12-under 272 shot. Titikun, who added 70 points for the Rookie of the Year award, widened the gap with 2nd place Hyejin Choi (23, 1161 points) to 208 points with 1369 points.
The next LPGA Tour event is the Mediheal Championship (total prize money of $1.8 million), which will be held for four days from the 6th.
By Kim Dong-hyun