'Magnet Approach' Seo Yeon-jeong, KLPGA Birch Hill Course Record Tie 63
'Magnet Approach' Seo Yeon-jeong, KLPGA Birch Hill Course Record Tie 63
Blog Article
Seo Yeon-jeong (29) tied the course record by sweeping 9 birdies on the first day of the McCall Mona Yongpyong Open
(total prize money of 800 million won) of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, and took the lead.
Seo Yeon-jeong shot a 9-under 63 in the first round of the tournament held at Birch Hill Golf Club (par 72) in
Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do on the 28th.
The score of 63 is the lowest score on the course, which was set by Choi Hye-jin in 2017, and was repeated after seven
years.
Ahn Ji-hyun shot a 10-under 62 in 2021, but it was not recognized as an official record because the preferred lie was
applied at the time due to bad weather.
Seo Yeon-jeong fired a precise shot that stuck to the pin like a magnet when hit.
Six of the nine birdies were made within 3m.
He also made four birdies that could have been eagles, all within 2m.
Thanks to the many near-perfect birdie opportunities he created, he reached the green in regulation strokes with an
average of just 1.47 putts, for a total of 24 putts.
Seo Yeon-jeong, who experienced the thrill of winning her first title in her 260th appearance at the KG Ladies Open last
year, has not been in good form this season.
He has missed the cut four times and has only finished in the top 10 once, in the round of 16 of the Doosan Match Play,
where he tied for 9th place.
As the 59th place in green hit rate (68.13%) and 64th place in putting (30.29 putts) show, both shots and green play are
unsatisfactory.
Seo Yeon-jeong, who started the first round on the 10th hole, had a frustrating game where she couldn't make a single
birdie until the 15th hole.
However, after making a 5m birdie on the 16th hole (par 4), he went on an upward trend by sinking a 15m chip shot on the
17th hole (par 3) and a 4m birdie putt on the 18th hole (par 5).
Seo Yeon-jeong, who lightly reduced one stroke by putting the ball 1m from the hole on the 1st hole (par 4), sank a 5m
birdie putt on the 2nd hole 안전 (par 3).
Seo Yeon-jeong, who hit five consecutive birdies, hit three consecutive birdies on holes 5 through 7.
The 5th hole (par 4) and the 6th hole (par 3) were tap-in birdies, and he did not miss the 3m birdie opportunity on the 7th
hole (par 4).
Seo Yeon-jeong finished off the birdie party in style by easily sinking a birdie putt of less than 2m on the 9th hole (par 4).
Seo Yeon-jeong, who skipped the practice round and only played the course during the pro-am tournament to save energy,
said, "I haven't been hitting my wedge shots well lately, but today the ball went where I thought and I played confidently."
She added, "The ball didn't go into the rough much, so it was easy to play, and the green speed suited me well."
Seo Yeon-jeong added, "After the birdie on the 16th hole, I also had a chip-in birdie and consecutive birdies, so I'm very
satisfied with the result. It's also my first time making five consecutive birdies since my pro debut, so I feel good."
Seo Yeon-jeong, who said, "Thanks to my parents coming to the last competition and cheering me on, I gained a lot of
strength," did not hide her expectations, saying, "If I confidently play my own way in this competition, I will get good
results."
However, the pursuit of strong contenders for the title is expected to be fierce.
Park Min-ji, who is one win away from her KLPGA Tour career record of 20 wins, shot a 6-under 66 to tie for second place.
Park Min-ji, who made seven birdies, including five consecutive birdies on holes 4 through 9, said, "My shots were really
good," and added, "I will play aggressively tomorrow to make more birdies."
Kim Min-byeol, Choi Min-kyung, Yoon Su-ah, and Hwang Ye-na also shot 6-under 66, putting them in line to compete for
the championship.
Park Hyun-kyung, who won her second title of the season at the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup on the 23rd and took first
place in prize money and target points, shot a 5-under 67 to join the group tied for 7th place, laying the foundation for her
second consecutive win.
Lee Ye-won, who is leading the most wins with three wins, also shot a 5-under 67.
Jinhee Lim, who won the most wins last year and moved to the United States this year, showed off her consistent
performance by recording a 4-under 68. Jinhee Lim won this tournament in 2022.
Last year's winner, Go Ji-woo, shot a three-under 69 to keep his hopes of winning the tournament for the second straight
time.
Yoon Ina, who drew attention by taking second place in this tournament in 2022 with her incredible long-distance hitting
power, withdrew at the 16th hole due to shoulder pain