2022 Season 2nd Match at Gainbridge LPGA Rookie Debut, Park Inbi and Lee Jeongeun6 Join, Danielle Kang Aims for 2 Consecutive Wins
‘KLPGA Grand Prize 3 Consecutive Wins’ Choi Hye-jin will make her debut at the Gainbridge LPGA, the second event of the 2022 LPGA Tour season.
[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is Hye-jin Choi's (23, Lotte) debut.
On the 27th (Korean time), she will participate in the second event of the 2022 LPGA Tour season, the Gainbridge LPGA (total prize money $2 million), held at Boca Rio Golf Club (par 72, 6,710 yards) in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. Starting in 2020, this is the third edition, and the defending champion is world No. 1 Nelly Korda (USA). This is the first full field event of the year. 120 players will compete over four days in a 72-hole stroke play format to determine the winner. The winner's prize money is $300,000.
Hye-jin Choi is a player who has won a total of 10 titles on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, including two as an amateur. She swept both the Rookie of the Year and the Player of the Year awards in 2018, and in 2019, she dominated major individual titles such as multiple wins, prize money, Player of the Year, and lowest scoring average. In 2020, she also earned the Player of the Year title for the third consecutive year. Last year, however, she finished without any titles. Last month, she secured her ticket to the U.S. stage by finishing tied for 8th at the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series.
She is aiming for a turnaround through overseas advancement. She has already demonstrated remarkable power on the LPGA Tour as a non-member. As an amateur, she finished runner-up at the 2017 major U.S. Women's Open, and she was also second at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in February 2020. She left for the U.S. two weeks ago and is continuing her adaptation training locally. "The LPGA Tour has been a stage I wanted to compete on since I was young," she said, "and I will show aggressive play."
'Top Seed' Anna Lin is challenging for the win at the Gainbridge LPGA, the second event of the 2022 LPGA Tour season.
‘Top of the Q-Series’ Anna Lin (26, Mediheal) is dreaming of a breakthrough. She has won twice on the KLPGA Tour and is known for her consistency, finishing 9th in last year's prize money rankings. She demonstrated stable skills in the Q-Series and earned the honor of ‘top pass,’ making her a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year this season. Rookie Ye-eun Hong (20, CJ O Shopping) also made the list. She is a promising player who proved her competitiveness by finishing 12th in the Q-Series after playing on the LPGA Symetra (2nd tier) Tour.
‘Golf Queen’ In-bi Park (34, KB Financial Group) is challenging for her first win of the season. She wrapped up warm-up with a tie for 8th place at last week's 2022 season opener, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. If she regains her putting touch, she is in good enough condition to aim for the top. The Korean contingent also includes Jeong-eun Lee6 (26, Daebang Construction), In-ji Jeon (28, KB Financial Group), Hee-young Yang (33, Woori Financial Group), and Ah-rim Kim (27, SBI Savings Bank).
'Number 1' Nelly Korda aims for victory at the Gainbridge LPGA, the second event of the 2022 LPGA Tour season.
Korda is aiming for her second consecutive win. She is determined to erase the disappointment of being overtaken after leading through three rounds in the opener. Danielle Kang (USA) is also aiming for her second consecutive victory, riding the momentum of a three-stroke win in the opener. She finished 3rd in 2020 but was cut last year. Madeleine Saxstr?m (Sweden), the inaugural champion, is also a contender. She set the course record for the lowest 18-hole score (10 under par) on this course. Last year's runner-up Lexi Thompson (USA) and Lydia Ko (New Zealand) are ‘dark horses.’
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