'Korea's No. 1' Park Minji Tied for Lead... "Going for 3 Consecutive Wins~"

Celltrion Queens Masters 1R 5-Under Par Excitement
Fifth Ever Consecutive 3-Time Victory Opportunity in the Same Tournament

‘Domestic No. 1’ Park Min-ji is on a winning streak.

On the 9th, Park Min-ji shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round of the KLPGA Tour Celltrion Queens Masters (total prize money 1.2 billion KRW) held at Seolhaewon The Legend Course (par 72, 6,678 yards) in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do. She formed a joint lead group along with Lee Ye-won, Park Joo-young, Kim Hee-ji, Hwang Yu-min, and Lee Seung-yeon. Park Ji-young, Lee Jung-min, Kim Su-ji, Lee So-mi, and Kim Seo-yoon posted 4-under-par 68, trailing the joint leaders by one stroke. Rising star Bang Shin-sil finished the day at 2-under-par 70.

Park Minji is making an iron shot on the 15th hole of the first round at the Celltrion Queens Masters.
[Photo by KLPGA]

Park Min-ji displayed perfect play with five birdies and no bogeys. She reduced two strokes in the front nine with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on holes 12 and 14, then added three more birdies on holes 1, 4, and 6 in the back nine. Over the past two years, Park Min-ji has dominated the domestic stage with 12 wins. However, this year she has been struggling without a title. Her best result so far was third place at the Mediheal·Hankook Ilbo Championship in April.

As the defending champion, Park Min-ji will achieve a three-peat if she wins this tournament. In the KLPGA Tour, only four players?late Ku Ok-hee, Park Se-ri, Kang Soo-yeon, and Kim Hae-rim?hold the rare record of winning the same tournament three consecutive times. Park Min-ji exclaimed, "I focused not on today’s score but on how I could hit the ball where I wanted." She added, "Thanks to that, I think I got such a good result, and I’m really happy." She also said, "When the wind blows, the course changes, but today the wind was light and the weather was good, so I played easily," and "I have good memories on this course, so I enjoyed playing."