Jeon In-ji 7 Under Par "Tied 2nd by 1 Stroke"... '71 Strokes' Ko Jin-young 'Fails Consecutive 60s Scores'

BMW Ladies Championship Day 1: Anna Lin Leads, Kim Sei-young Tied 7th, Park In-bee Tied 27th, Ko Jin-young and Park Min-ji Tied 42nd

Jeon In-ji is teeing off at the 2nd hole on the first day of the BMW Ladies Championship. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Dumbo’ Jeon In-ji (27, KB Financial Group) is on the march to victory.

On the 21st, at the LPGA International Busan (par 72, 6,726 yards) in Gijang-gun, Busan, the first day of the LPGA Tour BMW Ladies Championship (total prize money $2 million) kicked off, and she shot 7 under par to tie for 2nd place. Anna Lin (25, Moon Young Group) leads with 8 under par 64, Park Joo-young (31, Dongbu Construction) is tied for 2nd, and Danielle Kang (USA), Kim A-rim (26, SBI Savings Bank), and Yoo Hae-ran (20, SK Networks) are tied for 4th at 6 under par 66.

Jeon In-ji boasted a perfect play with 7 birdies and no bogeys. She started off well with birdies on holes 1 and 4, then swept three consecutive birdies from holes 9 to 11. She added two more birdies on holes 14 and 17, joining the race for the championship. She is one stroke behind the leader, aiming for her 4th career win, her first in three years since winning the KEB Hana Bank Championship in October 2018. Domestic player Anna Lin dominated the top of the leaderboard with 9 birdies and 1 bogey.

Anna Lin is making an iron shot on the 8th hole during the first day of the BMW Ladies Championship. Photo by KLPGA

She is a player who has won twice on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. She has applied to participate in the LPGA Tour Qualifying School this winter to advance to the U.S. ‘Number 4’ Kim Sei-young (28, Mediheal) started comfortably, tied for 7th place at 3 strokes behind (5 under par 67). Im Hee-jung (21, Korea Land & Housing Corporation) and Minjee Lee (Australia) joined this group. Lee Jeong-eun 6 (25, Daebang Construction) is tied for 21st (3 under par 69), and ‘Number 3’ Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group) is tied for 27th (2 under par 70).

‘Number 2’ Ko Jin-young (26) recorded 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. Unfortunately, her streak of 14 consecutive rounds in the 60s on the LPGA Tour since last July came to an end. Along with ‘Domestic Number 1’ Park Min-ji (23, NH Investment & Securities), Park Hyun-kyung (21, Korea Land & Housing Corporation), and Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte), she is tied for 42nd (1 under par 71). Choi Hye-jin (22, Lotte) is tied for 57th (even par 72), and defending champion Jang Ha-na (29, BC Card) finished tied for 72nd (2 over par 74).