“The KLPGA Tour is competitive, and when you actually play, it is difficult to feel the difference in skill compared to LPGA Tour players.”
This is the competitiveness of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour as seen by Patty Tawatanakat (Thailand), who won her first career victory on the LPGA Tour.
Tawatanakit said this when asked to choose the winner at the official press conference for the Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won) held at Hana Global Campus near Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon on the 20th.
Tawatanakit, who participated in this tournament last year and finished tied for 42nd place, said, “I don’t play on the KLPGA tour, so I don’t know all the players,” and added, “I think everyone has a chance to win because the Korean players are all good. “They are all great players,” he said, predicting this tournament.
Lee Min-ji, an Australian Korean ranked 7th in the world, experienced firsthand the competitiveness of the KLPGA tour two years ago. He unfortunately finished runner-up with Song Ga-eun in a close match that went to overtime, and missed the cut in last year’s competition.
Lee Min-ji said, “I know that Korean players have very good skills and are good at it,” and added, “Even if they are top-ranked in the LPGA, their chances of winning are likely low because they are not active in the KLPGA Tour.” He said, “Last year, before I came to Korea, my condition was not that good and I did not have much confidence. “This time, I felt confident and adapted well to the time difference,” he said.
The Hana Financial Group Championship, which is being held for a winning prize of 270 million won, seems to be narrowing down to a competition between domestic players and LPGA stars.
Along with Tawatanakit, Korean players Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and Lee Min-ji (Australia), Thailand’s rookie Jaravi Boonchant, and talented Choi Hye-jin, who moved to the LPGA tour after playing on the KLPGA tour, will compete for the championship.
As LPGA stars participated, the strong players on the KLPGA tour were also cautious about competing for the championship.
Last year’s winner Kim Su-ji said, “I have the opportunity to play with LPGA Tour players, including Min-ji Lee. I will do my best to defend my title, but I want to use it as an opportunity to make up for my shortcomings while watching the LPGA Tour players play.” I promised.
Lee Ye-won, who is ranked first in the money rankings with her second win of the season, also said바카라사이트, “It is an honor to play with Lydia Ko, a player I only saw on TV,” and added, “I think I can learn a lot just by watching the game. “My goal is to grow little by little in each tournament, and in this tournament, I will focus on finding ways to improve while playing against players on the LPGA tour,” he said.
In the first round of the Hana Financial Group Championship, which opens on the 21st, the winners of the KLPGA and LPGA tours will face off.
Lee Ye-won, who ranks first in prize money, and Park Ji-young, who ranks first in most wins, will tee off on the first hole against Lydia Ko, who has 19 wins on the LPGA Tour, at 11 a.m., and defending champion Su-ji Kim will play against Lee Min-ji and Madasom from the first hole at 11:10 a.m. .
Earlier, at 10:50 a.m., Park Min-ji, Hwang Yu-min, and Choi Hye-jin tee off at the first hole.