'Korea's No. 1' Park Minji "2023 Season Overseas Opening Tournament Entry"

Park Minji Challenges for Victory at Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open
Top Players Including Kim Suji, Lim Heejeong, Park Hyunkyung, Lee Somi, Ji Hansol Gather
LPGA's Titi Kkun and Choi Hyejin, JLPGA's Shin Jiae and Jeon Mijeong Join

Park Min-ji aims for her first win of the 2023 season at the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Domestic No. 1’ Park Min-ji is set to make her overseas season opener debut.

Park Min-ji will aim for her first victory at the Hana Financial Group Singapore Ladies Open (total prize money 1.1 million Singapore dollars), held on the 9th at the Tanah Merah Country Club Tampines Course (par 72, 6,486 yards) in Singapore. Players active on the KLPGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and JLPGA Tour will compete fiercely for the inaugural champion title.

The KLPGA Tour is holding its 2023 season opener overseas in December for the first time in three years. The KLPGA Tour has previously held season openers in December in countries such as China and Vietnam, but after the 2019 December Vietnam Hyosung Championship, the event was suspended for two years due to the global spread of COVID-19. This year, the scale has grown larger. The total prize money exceeds 1 billion Korean won, and the winner’s prize reaches 200 million won (198,000 Singapore dollars). This is the highest prize money for a 3-round tournament.

Park Min-ji is a strong favorite to win. She had a thrilling year, sweeping up six wins including two majors. Last year, she set a single-season record with 1.52 billion won in prize money, and this year she accumulated 1.47792 billion won, achieving back-to-back money titles. She has collected 12 trophies over the past two years. Park Min-ji said, "This year, I achieved results that I can be proud of as a player," and added, "I will run again with the mindset of starting anew."

Most of the top KLPGA Tour players will participate, including Player of the Year Kim Su-ji, Rookie of the Year Lee Ye-won, Korean Women’s Open champion Lim Hee-jeong, two-time winners Lee So-mi, Park Hyun-kyung, Cho Ah-yeon, Jung Yoon-ji, Park Ji-young, Lee Ga-young, Hong Jeong-min, Ji Han-sol, and Han Jin-seon. Except for Oh Ji-hyun, who is getting married on the 18th, and Yoo Hae-ran, who is competing in the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series, all players ranked within the top 60 in last season’s money rankings will participate.

From the LPGA Tour, Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), who competed in the Rookie of the Year race this year, and Choi Hye-jin have joined. Thitikul won two tournaments this year and claimed the Rookie of the Year title, surpassing Choi Hye-jin. Shin Ji-ae and Jeon Mi-jeong, who dominate the JLPGA Tour, are also on the entry list. It has been two years and four months since Shin Ji-ae, who has accumulated 59 wins across the Korean, American, and Japanese tours, last played on the KLPGA Tour at the August 2020 Daewoo Winia MBN Ladies Open.