Choi Hye-jin's Smile "If the First Day Was Good, the Last Day Was Good Too"

HuenCare Women's Open Day 1: Leading with 5 Under Par, Lee So-mi, Kim Ah-rim, and Jeon Woo-ri Chase in a Tie for 2nd Place, 1 Stroke Behind

Choi Hye-jin is teeing off at the 6th hole on the first day of the HUENCARE Women's Open. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "If the first day’s performance is good, there are many good memories until the end."

This is the bright smile of Choi Hye-jin (21, Lotte), the 'No. 1 in Korea.' On the 22nd, at the South Links Golf Course in Yeongam, Jeonnam (par 72, 6,420 yards), the newly established KLPGA Tour event, the Huencare Women’s Open (total prize money 800 million KRW), she surged ahead by 5 under par on the first day, leading by one stroke. "I’m happy to have started well after a long time," she said, adding, "I will do my best to maintain focus until the end of this tournament."

On a course where the strong wind blew relentlessly enough to make the silver grass dance, she swept up 6 birdies (1 bogey). Her stable shots stood out with an 85% fairway hit rate and 83% greens in regulation. "I used to dislike the wind, but these days I don’t really pay much attention to it," she explained. "Playing safely because of the wind led to good results." Choi Hye-jin is a strong player with a total of 9 wins on the KLPGA Tour, including 2 as an amateur.

She won 2 titles in 2018 to become Rookie of the Year, and last year she dominated the KLPGA Tour with 5 wins including a major. She achieved the feat of sweeping individual titles such as wins, prize money, Player of the Year, and scoring average. However, this year she has been suffering from a drought of victories. Before this tournament, she participated in 12 events, making it to the final round in all, and entered the top 10 an impressive 11 times, but fell short by 2%. She leads in Player of the Year points (357 points) and top 10 finish rate (91.67%), but remains without a title.

With 4 tournaments left, she is thirsty for her first win. She made a strategic move by bringing back the putter she used last year. "I had many concerns about putting until last week, so I changed my putter," she analyzed. "I shortened the time during my address routine, and it seems to have had an effect." Lee So-mi (21), Kim Ah-rim (25, both SBI Savings Bank), and Jeon Woo-ri (23, Korea Land Trust) are tied for second place (4 under par, 68 strokes). Four players including Hong Ran (34, Samchully) are tied for fifth place (3 under par, 69 strokes).