Kim Hyo-joo (27), ranked eighth in the world, cooked Pebble Beach’s greens and laid the foundation for her first major championship in nine years.
Kim Hyo-joo made a birdie 5 in the first round of the 78th US Women’s Open (total prize money of 11 million dollars), the third major of the LPGA tour season held at Pebble Beach Golf Links (par 72) in California on the 7th (Korean time). He tied a dog and a bogey and shot a 4-under-par 68. She is tied for the lead by one stroke with Lin Xiu (China), who tied for third place after competing for the championship at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a major tournament two weeks ago.
Kim Hyo-joo, who took part in three LPGA tour tournaments last month and recorded runner-up and fifth place once, took the opportunity to challenge for her sixth tour victory in a year and three months after winning the Lotte Championship in April토토사이트 of last year. She is only 8 years and 10 months old when it comes to major tournaments. Kim Hyo-joo recorded the only major victory of her personal career at the 2014 Evian Championship while active on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour.
Kim Hyo-joo, who is ranked first in average strokes (69.4 strokes) and green accuracy (75.6%) on the LPGA Tour this season, attacked the course with accurate tee shots and iron shots on this day as well. Her fairway landing rate reached 78.57% (11/14), and she hit the ball 11 times (61.11%) even on small and tricky greens, showing off a sharp shot.
Above all, the putt was brilliant. Kim Hyo-joo ranked first among the participating players with 4.44 strokes in the category of strokes gained by putts that day. After making birdie putts of about 3m on holes 2 (par 5) and 4 (par 4), he reduced another stroke by placing a tee shot 1m inside the pin on hole 5 (par 3). After dropping a birdie putt of about 8m in the 8th hole (par 4), he stood shoulder to shoulder with Lin Sei-wi, who was running the sole lead, but the second shot in the 9th hole (par 4) fell into the bunker next to the green, so he lost the number of strokes and was tied for the lead. came down
Kim Hyo-joo, who continued par marching through several opportunities and crises up to the 16th hole in the second half, caught a 6m birdie at the 17th hole (par 3) and once again rose to the joint lead. After the game, Kim Hyo-joo said, “There were several crises in the second half, but I was able to block it with a par each time.”
Yoo Hae-ran (22), who is in first place in points for the rookie of the year, hit 3 under par with 5 birdies and 2 bogeys to tie for 3rd place with Hataoka Nasa (Japan) and amateur Ain Donegan (Ireland). Hae-Ran Yoo was sluggish in the majors, such as a tie for 56th in the Chevron Championship this April and missing the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but in this tournament, she started cruising and raised expectations for her best individual major performance.
Yang Hee-young (34) and Lee Jeong-eun (27) tied for ninth place (2 under par), followed by Shin Ji-ae (35), who had a long-awaited visit to the US Women’s Open, with a tie for 13th place (1 under par). Shin Ji-ae, who was ranked first in the world in the past, competed for the lead with a 3-under-par until the 7th hole in the latter half of the day, but she missed the 8th hole (par 4) double bogey. Jeon In-ji (29) is tied for 21st (even par) with defending champion Lee Min-ji (Australia).
World No. 1 Ko Jin-young was tied for 124th place (7 over par), and his steps were heavy. Park Min-ji, who boasts a total of 18 wins on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour, was tied for 101st (5 over par) alongside Lee So-mi, and Lee Da-yeon tied for 29th (1 over par), achieving the best performance among KLPGA tour players. .