2022 Season Round 2 Gainbridge LPGA Day 1: Danielle Kang 2nd, Lee Jeong-eun 6 Tied 4th, 'Number 1' Korda Tied 11th
Choi Hye-jin shot 5 under par on the first day of the second round of the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA season.
[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Choi Hye-jin (23, Lotte) had a perfect debut.
On the 28th (Korean time) at Boca Rio Golf Club (par 72, 6,710 yards) in Boca Raton, Florida, USA, the second event of the 2022 LPGA Tour season, the Gainbridge LPGA (total prize money $2 million), Choi posted 5-under par on the first day to tie for 4th place. Lydia Ko leads with 9-under par 63, followed by Danielle Kang (USA) in 2nd place (7-under par 65), and Aditi Ashok (India) in 3rd place (6-under par 66) chasing behind.
Choi Hye-jin made six birdies and one bogey. After a birdie on the 1st hole (par 5) was offset by a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 3), she changed the momentum with 'stepping stone birdies' on the 4th and 6th holes. In the back nine, she added three more birdies on the 10th, 14th, and 18th holes to join the lead race. She recorded a powerful average drive of 258 yards, a fairway hit rate of 71%, and a green in regulation rate of 78%. Her putting count was also good at 27. She is 4 strokes behind the leader, well within striking distance for a win.
Choi Hye-jin is a strong player with a total of 10 wins on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. She won both the Rookie of the Year and the Player of the Year awards in 2018, and swept major individual titles including most wins, prize money, Player of the Year, and lowest scoring average in 2019. In 2020, she also earned the Player of the Year title for the third consecutive year. Last month, she entered the U.S. by finishing tied for 8th at the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series. In her first tournament as an LPGA Tour member, she demonstrated the performance expected of a strong Rookie of the Year candidate.
Lydia Ko is teeing off at the 18th hole on the first day of the Gainbridge LPGA. Boca Raton, USA = Getty Images / Multivits Photo by Multivits
Lydia Ko dominated the leaderboard with a flawless performance, making eight birdies without a bogey. This marks her 17th career win, her first in nine months since winning the Lotte Championship last April. Danielle Kang, the winner of last week's season-opening Tournament of Champions, laid the foundation for back-to-back wins. Nasa Hataoka and Yuka Saso (both from Japan) are tied for 4th place, while defending champion and world number one Nelly Korda (USA) and Brooke Henderson (Canada) are tied for 11th place (4-under par 68).
Korea's Lee Jeong-eun6 (26, Daebang Construction) is tied for 4th place with one eagle and three birdies. Jeon In-ji (28, KB Financial Group) and Yang Hee-young (33, Woori Financial Group) are tied for 11th place, and rookie Hong Ye-eun (20, CJ O Shopping) started solidly at tied 30th place (2-under par 70). Golf queen Park In-bi (34, KB Financial Group) is tied for 47th place (1-under par 71). Anna Lin (26, Mediheal), the top qualifier, is also looking to move up in this group.
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