Park Hyun-kyung and Lee Ye-won, two of the most dominant players on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour this year, are heading to Jeju Island for their fourth win of the season.
Park and Lee will compete side-by-side in the KLPGA Tour’s Jeju Samdasu Masters (total prize money of 1 billion won) at Blackstone Golf Club (Par 72) in Jeju Island for four days from next month.
The tournament is the first event of the second half of the KLPGA Tour season after a two-week break.
Park and Lee did not compete in the last event of the first half, the Hiwon Resort Open, so it will be three weeks since the Lotte Open, which concluded on July 7.
The duo went 3-for-3 in the first half of the year to remain in a tight race for the top spot on the KLPGA Tour.
In terms of money and points, Park leads the standings, pushing Lee into second place, but the gap is not significant.
Park needs to win this tournament to extend her lead over Yi and establish herself as a dominant force.
Lee is hoping to gain a foothold to catch or overtake Park Hyun-kyung.
Park and Lee are similar in their approach to the course, using precision shots, excellent risk management and clutch putting instead of long drives.
They have many fond memories of competing in Jeju.
Park has finished in the top 10 four times in five tournaments on Jeju’s local golf courses between last year and this year, including a victory at the SK networks-Seoul Economic Classic at Pinx Golf Club in Jeju last October, ending a streak of nine consecutive runner-up finishes.
Park has always been a confident golfer on Jeju Island, having excelled on the island’s golf courses since her amateur days.
Lee has a special connection to Jeju Island as he won his first title at Lotte Skyhill Country Club and his second at Teddy Valley Golf Club.
Lee has been a member of the Korean national team for a long time, so he was no stranger to the golf courses on Jeju Island, a regular training ground for the national team.
The Korean powerhouses are expected to fight back after two weeks of sweet rest.
Two-time defending champion Park Ji-young, who has nearly recovered from an appendectomy in May that kept her off the tour for nearly a month, and Park Min-ji, who has repeatedly won this year, will also be looking for her first victory of the second half of the season.
Yoon In-na, Hwang Yoo-min and Bang Shin-shil will also be in contention.
In particular, Yoon In-na, who is ranked fifth on the money list without a win, is eager for her first victory of the season.
Another factor will be the emergence of Hae-Ran Lee, who narrowly missed out on victory in her last two tournaments on the LPGA Tour.
She won back-to-back titles at the Jeju Samdasoo Masters in 2019 and 2020.
Nicknamed “Princess Ora” after the Ora Country Club in Ora, Jeju Island, she has always performed well on Jeju’s local courses, so she could win three titles for the first time in the 11th edition of the Jeju Samdasu Masters.
Defending champion Im Jin-hee, who also plays on the LPGA Tour, will defend her title
Defending Women’s Open champion Lee Ga-young will be looking to make it two in a row.
Park Sung-hyun “Namdala” Park returns to the field for the first time in a year after taking a medical leave of absence from the LPGA Tour to prepare for next season.
The key will be how much of her game she has recovered from her wrist ligament injury and rehabilitation. 파워볼사이트