Failed Again in Joint Victory at Meyer Classic
Most Tournament Winless in 24 Years Since 2000
Bu Wins in Playoff, Thompson and Grace Kim Runner-ups
The 'winless streak' for Korean women's golf is getting longer.
Anna Lin is teeing off at the 4th hole of the 4th round of the Meijer Classic. [Grand Rapids, USA=AFP·Yonhap News]
On the 16th (local time), at the Blyderfields Country Club (par 72, 6,638 yards) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, the LPGA Tour Meijer Classic (total prize money $3 million) concluded without a Korean winner. Anna Lin fought hard in the final 4th round, reducing her score by 2 strokes, but finished tied for 5th place (14 under par, 274 strokes). She was the only player to finish within the top 10. Sung Yu-jin tied for 12th place (11 under par, 277 strokes), and Lim Jin-hee tied for 25th place (9 under par, 279 strokes) followed. Jeon Ji-won tied for 30th place (8 under par, 280 strokes), while Kim In-kyung and Lee Jeong-eun6 finished tied for 34th place (7 under par, 281 strokes).
Korean players have failed to win in 15 consecutive tournaments from the LPGA Tour season opener, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January, through this event. This is the longest winless streak for Korean players since 2000, spanning 24 years since the season started. In 2000, Park Ji-eun earned the first Korean victory at the 16th tournament after the season opener, the Kia Island Greens.com Classic. Since 2000, the first Korean wins came at the 14th tournament after the season start in both 2008 and 2014.
Anna Lin started tied for 2nd place, 5 strokes behind the leader, and recorded 5 birdies and 3 bogeys. After consecutive birdies on holes 1 and 2, she took a brief breather with a bogey on hole 3 (par 4), then jumped back into the winning competition with 'stepping stone birdies' on holes 6 and 8. At hole 12 (par 4), she reduced her score by one stroke again, taking the top spot on the leaderboard. However, bogeys on hole 16 (par 4) and the final hole 18 (par 5) dashed her hopes of a come-from-behind victory. Following a tie for 6th place at last week's ShopRite Classic, this marks her second consecutive tournament and third top-10 finish of the season.
World No. 2 Lilia Bu (USA), returning to the field after a two-month hiatus due to a back injury, surged with a 7-under-par round to tie with Grace Kim (Australia) and Lexi Thompson (USA) at 16 under par (272 strokes). In the resumed playoff's third hole (par 5), Bu secured the winning birdie. This is her fifth career victory, the first in seven months since Annika Driven in November last year, with a winner's prize of $450,000 (approximately 600 million KRW). Grace Kim, who led the previous day, lost one stroke and settled for a tie for 2nd place. Thompson, who announced her retirement this year, is also in this group. Defending champion Leona Maguire (Ireland), aiming for back-to-back titles, struggled and finished tied for 65th place (1 under par, 287 strokes).
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