Ko Jin-young and Kim Se-young 'Tied 9th at 4 Under Par'... Jessica 'Leads at 7 Under Par'

Hugel-Air Premia LA Open Day 1: Moriya Tied 2nd, Korda Tied 4th, Park In-bee and Yoo So-yeon Tied 17th

Ko Jin-young started fresh by shooting 4 under par on the first day of the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, tied for 10th place.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] World No. 1 Ko Jin-young (26) is advancing toward victory.

On the 22nd (Korean time), at the Wilshire Golf Course in Los Angeles, California, USA (par 71, 6,450 yards), the first day of the 7th event of the 2021 LPGA Tour, the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open (total prize money $1.5 million), Ko Jin-young posted 4-under par to tie for 9th place. ‘Number 3’ Kim Se-young (28, Mirae Asset) and Kim A-rim (26, SBI Savings Bank) are also in this group. Jessica Korda (USA) currently leads the leaderboard with 7-under par 64.

Ko Jin-young made five birdies and one bogey. In the front nine, she recovered from a bogey on the 11th hole with a birdie on the 14th hole (both par 4), but in the back nine, she gained momentum with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 1st and 3rd holes followed by consecutive birdies on the 8th and 9th holes. She relied on accurate tee shots, missing the fairway only once. This came after skipping last week’s Lotte Championship to recharge her energy. She is three strokes behind the leader, in a position to aim for her first win of the season and her eighth career victory.

Korda swept in eight birdies and one bogey. This is her second win of the season and seventh career victory since the Diamond Resort Tournament in January. Moriya Jutanugarn (Thailand), the inaugural 2018 champion, and Tiffany Chan (Hong Kong) are chasing in a tie for second place, one stroke behind at 6-under par 65. ‘Gainbridge Champion’ Nelly Korda and ‘Drive On Championship Champion’ Austin Ernst (both USA), along with Carlota Ciganda (Spain), started comfortably tied for fourth place at 5-under par 66.

Korea’s ‘Golf Queen’ Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group) started tied for 17th place at 3-under par 68. Yoo So-yeon (31, Mediheal), Park Sung-hyun (28), and Lee Jeong-eun 6 (25, Daebang Construction) also joined this group. 2019 champion Minjee Lee (Australia) and Lexi Thompson (USA) were tied for 43rd place at 1-under par 70. ‘ANA Champion’ Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand) was tied for 114th at 4-over par 75, and ‘Lotte Championship Champion’ Lydia Ko (New Zealand) struggled at tied 134th with 7-over par 78.