[At Clubhouse] 'Major Queen' Park Hyun-kyung "I Want to Be No.1 in Average Score"

KLPGA Championship Winning Start, 'Training King' Lee Jeong-eun 6 as Role Model, "Aspire to Join LPGA Tour in Mid-20s"

'Major Queen' Park Hyun-kyung expressed her ambition, saying, "My biggest goal this year is to be number one in average score." Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "My biggest goal this year is to be number one in scoring average."

That is the bold ambition of Park Hyun-kyung (20, Korea Land Trust), a second-year player on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. She claimed the first major of the 2020 season, the KLPGA Championship (total prize money 3 billion KRW), which ended on the 17th, earning the distinction of being the first winner worldwide after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In a phone interview with Asia Economy Newspaper on the 24th, she said, "I didn't expect to win so quickly," adding, "While winning two or three more tournaments would be great, I am most eager to win the scoring average title."

▲ "Suddenly a Major Queen" = Park Hyun-kyung is a player who, along with Jo Ah-yeon (20, Volvik) and Lim Hee-jeong (20, Hanwha Q CELLS), has been thriving while wearing the Taegeuk mark. She debuted as a professional last year and entered the top 10 an impressive 11 times, including a third place at the ADT Caps Championship, finishing third in rookie points. However, she endured emotional struggles quietly. This was because Jo Ah-yeon led with two wins to claim Rookie of the Year, and Lim Hee-jeong swept three wins including one major, soaring high.

"All my friends won in their first year," she confessed, "I felt like I was falling behind alone, and it hurt my heart every time I was compared to my peers." After persevering, she decorated her first victory with a major title, and at the moment she stood at the top in her 29th tournament, she shed tears together with her father Park Se-su, who served as her caddie. "More than 1,000 people congratulated me by phone and text," she said with a smile, "Now many people recognize me."

Park Hyun-kyung is cheering with her father the moment her victory at the KLPGA Championship is confirmed. Photo by KLPGA

▲ "Increasing Distance and Mental Strength" = The achievements of her peers actually served as motivation. Park Hyun-kyung spent 42 days last winter sweating hard in San Diego, USA. Lee Si-woo, the swing coach of Ko Jin-young (25), the world number one, acted as her mentor. During the camp, she learned a lot by watching Ko Jin-young, Lee Bo-mi (32), who has 21 wins on the JLPGA Tour, and Kim Joo-hyung (18, CJ Logistics), last year's Asian (APGA) Tour India Open champion.

She focused on increasing driving distance and putting, and improved shot stability through swing correction. In fact, her distance increased by 10 yards compared to last year. "As my swing settled, my distance naturally increased," she proudly said, "and my putting improved as well, raising my consistency." Above all, she was glad to have controlled her mental state, which wavered on the final day. "I achieved complex improvements in both technique and mental strength," she added, "and (Ko) Jin-young unnie's advice was a great help."

Park Hyun-kyung plans to continue competing on the domestic stage for the time being and aims to advance overseas in her mid-20s. Photo by KLPGA

▲ "Role Model and Bigger Stage" = The player Park Hyun-kyung wants to emulate is Lee Jeong-eun6 (24, Daebang Construction). She is a strong competitor who was the KLPGA Rookie of the Year in 2017, won six domestic titles in 2018, and triumphed at the US Women's Open last year. Park and Lee Jeong-eun6 were teammates on the national team in their third year of middle school. "She is the first player I've seen who trains harder than I do," Park praised, "She manages herself thoroughly and is a player with many things to learn from." Her pre-season goal was to achieve her first career win.

She achieved that early in the first tournament. Now that the burden of winning is lifted, she envisions a more aggressive tour life. Park Hyun-kyung, who still feels a bit dazed, said, "I want to be a player who consistently produces good results," and introduced, "I definitely want to be number one in scoring average." She plans to focus on the KLPGA Tour for the time being. "I gained confidence after winning," she said, adding, "After performing better domestically, I plan to challenge bigger stages like the US in my mid-20s."