Song Ga-eun has laid the foundation to rise to the top once again in the tournament that gave her her first win on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour.
Song Ga-eun recorded 6 birdies and 1 bogey in the first round of the first day of the Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won) held at Bears Best Cheongna (par 72) in Seo-gu, Incheon on the 21st.
Song Ga-eun, who recorded a total of 5 under par 67 in the first round, enters the second round tied for the lead with Lee So-young and Park Hyun-kyung.
Song Ga-eun, who debuted on the KLPGA Tour in 2021, was named Rookie of the Year by winning the Hana Financial Group Championship in her first year. She won the Daebo House Open in July last year, where she became the multiple winner.
Song Ga-eun, who had the opportunity to win a meaningful competition, said, “I didn’t have high expectations because I missed the cut last year,” and she smiled brightly, saying, “Yesterday, I watched a rerun of the overtime match of the 2021 competition on TV, and my confidence went up.”
She celebrates her victory every year, but this year’s performance is not satisfactory. Although she accumulated close to 200 million won (approximately 192.11 million won) in prize money for the season, she failed to submit any notable reports other than three top 10 finishes.스포츠토토
Song Ga-eun said, “It’s true that I’ve been discouraged and lost confidence because my performance hasn’t been good these days. My goal is to get into the top 10. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to play in windy conditions, so I’ll focus on controlling the greens with control shots.” .
Soyoung Lee, who has not won since 2021, said, “Overall, the shot was good and the putt was also good. I have recently found balance in my swing and I think I will be able to play a stable game in the future.”
Park Hyun-kyung, who was runner-up three times this year, said, “I’m trying to get rid of doubts about myself, but it’s not working. I played comfortably with the mindset that I could miss the cut, but I hit some good shots, including two chip-in birdies.”
Mada Som, who won her first career title at the OK Financial Group Kittman Open last week, was tied for fourth place with Patit Tha and Thani Kit (Thailand) with a 4-under-par 68.
Defending champion Kim Su-ji started with Choi Hye-jin, Lee Da-yeon, and Choi Ga-bin in 6th place with a 3-under par 69.
World No. 7 Lee Min-ji (Australia) and World No. 10 Lydia Go (New Zealand) ended the first day of play with 1 under par 71 strokes and a tie for 19th place.
Japan Ladies Professional Golf (JLPGA) tour star golfer Yokomine Sakura missed her tee time and received a two-stroke penalty. However, he made up for his mistakes with two birdies, and recorded an even par 72 strokes, raising his ranking to a tie for 33rd place.