Korean players on the LPGA Tour will enter the 2023 season in earnest through a tournament held in Thailand.
The second tournament of the LPGA Tour season, Honda LPGA Thailand, will be held at Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course (par 72) in Chonburi, Thailand for four days from the 23rd.
The LPGA Tour kicked off its season last month with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. However, only players who have won the LPGA Tour in the last two years can participate in this tournament. All Korean players who were eligible to participate did not participate. Most of the top rankers, including world No. 1 Lydia Ko, Lee Min-ji and Ataya Titikkun, did not participate.
Honda LPGA Thailand is different. A large number of top rankers were included in the list. 12 Korean players will also participate. The LPGA Tour Korean Legion, which is virtually complete, challenges its first win of the season. The Korean Legion also has homework to restore honor. Korean players have been unbeaten in 17 tournaments since Jeon In-ji’s victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a major tournament in June last year, until the opening game of this season.
Jinyoung Koh, world No. 5 in women’s golf, is back after recovering from a wrist injury. Ko Jin-young reached the top of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March last year. However, she had a rough time with a chronic wrist injury. She repeated rest, treatment and her return to tour. She also gave up the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, which she held for nine months.
Ko Jin-young focused on recovery from injuries and rehabilitation during the offseason. Ko Jin-young said, “The first goal is to get a sense of the swing as soon as possible. The next goal will be to win the championship.”
Jeon In-ji, who lifted the championship cup in 3 years and 8 months last year, will also participate. Jeon In-ji said, “Winter training is the time to reorganize the parts that I felt lacking during the tournament. I used this period to pay attention to putting, short game, and swing.” It went around constantly,” he explained.
Jeon In-ji is recording 4 wins on the LPGA tour, but she won 3 wins in major tournaments only. She has topped the past 2015 US Women’s Open, 2016 Evian Championship and last year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. If she wins the Chevron Championship or the AIG Women’s Open this year, she will achieve a career grand slam. She is the second Korean player after Inbi Park. 메이저놀이터
Jeon In-ji said, “I felt that many people supported the Grand Slam.
‘Queen of Thailand’ Yang Hee-young is also a strong candidate for the championship. Yang Hee-young harvested three of her four LPGA Tour career victories in these events. In the past 2015, 2017 and 2019 she was the champion of this competition. In 2021 and last year, they failed to reach the top, but showed a strong performance in Thailand, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively.
In addition, Kim Hyo-joo, who had one win last year, as well as Kim Se-young, Choi Hye-jin, and Lee Jeong-eun will also challenge for the championship.
The most powerful competitor for Korean players to win the title is World No. 1 Lydia Ko. Lydia Ko will challenge to win two consecutive tournaments following the Aramco Ladies International of the European Women’s Professional Golf Tour (LET) on the 19th. World No. 2 Koda, No. 3 Lee Min-ji, and T-tikkun who can take advantage of the home course are also candidates for the championship.