ISPS Handa Australian Women's Open Day 1: 1 Stroke Behind Joint 2nd, Jo A-yeon and Choi Na-yeon, Saxstrom and Korda Joint 7th
Inbee Park shot 6 under par on the first day of the ISPS Handa Australian Women's Open, starting tied for 2nd place.
[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] 'Golf Queen' Park In-bee (32, KB Financial Group) is advancing toward victory.
On the 13th (Korean time), at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club in Adelaide, Australia (par 73, 6,648 yards), the first day of the LPGA Tour ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open (total prize money $1.3 million) opened, and Park In-bee shot 6 under par to tie for 2nd place with 'LPGA Rookie of the Year' Lee Jeong-eun6 (24, Daebang Construction). Jodi Ewart Shadoff (England) leads the leaderboard with 7 under par 66. This is Park In-bee's 9th season since joining the LPGA Tour in 2012 and the 4th event of the 2020 season.
Park In-bee recorded 1 eagle, 6 birdies, and 2 bogeys. She started impressively with an eagle on the 1st hole (par 4) and 'stepping stone birdies' on the 3rd and 5th holes. After a bogey on the 7th hole (par 3), she successfully bounced back with a birdie on the 8th hole (par 4), then continued her momentum by adding birdies on the 12th, 15th, and 17th holes. However, it was a bit disappointing that she made a bogey on the last 18th hole (par 4) after her tee shot landed in a bunker, dropping from the joint lead.
She missed the fairway 3 times and the green 4 times. Her putting count for the round was an outstanding 26. She is just one stroke behind the leader, with a chance to claim her 20th career victory for the first time in 1 year and 11 months since the Founders Cup in March 2018. Park In-bee is a 'career Grand Slam winner' who has won all four major championships. She also completed the 'career Golden Slam' by winning the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Although the season usually starts at the end of February, she started early this year to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.
She has participated in four consecutive tournaments since last month's season opener, the Diamond Resort Tournament. To qualify for the Olympics, Park In-bee must be ranked within the top 15 worldwide and among the top 4 Korean players by June. Currently, she is 17th, following No. 1 Ko Jin-young (25, Hite Jinro), No. 2 Park Sung-hyun (27), No. 6 Kim Sei-young (27, Mirae Asset), No. 9 Lee Jeong-eun6, and No. 12 Kim Hyo-joo (25, Lotte). She plans to compete in many tournaments until June to accumulate ranking points.
Shadoff took the lead with a flawless performance, making 7 birdies. She debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2011 but has yet to win a tournament. Lee Jeong-eun6 joined the competition for the title by making 8 birdies (2 bogeys). 'KLPGA Rookie of the Year' Cho A-yeon (20, Volvik), Choi Na-yeon (33, Daebang Construction), Gainbridge LPGA champion Madelene Sagstrom (Sweden), and defending champion Nelly Korda (USA) are all tied for 7th place (4 under par 69), looking for their chance.
Home course player Minjee Lee (Australia), Stacy Lewis (USA), and Georgia Hall (England) are tied for 19th place (3 under par 70). From Korea, Kang Hye-ji (30) is tied for 19th, while 'domestic No. 1' Choi Hye-jin (21, Lotte), Yoo So-yeon (30, Mediheal), and Lee Mi-hyang (27, Volvik) are tied for 35th place (2 under par 71). Park Hee-young (33, Isu Construction), last week's ISPS Handa Vic Open winner, finished the first round tied for 69th place (even par 73) thanks to four consecutive birdies from holes 15 to 18.
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