Hee Jung Lim leads by one stroke.
Injury-plagued Lim Hee-jung has taken a share of the lead on the first day of the Sangsangin-Korea Economic TV Open on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, with a total purse of 1.2 billion won.
Lim carded seven birdies and no bogeys for a 7-under 65 on the first day of play at the par-72, 6606-yard Mulgil-Bloomgil Course at Lakewood CC in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, to take a one-stroke lead over second-place finishers Hwang Yoo-min, Park Jeol, Kim Soo-ji and Choi Ga-bin.
Lim had to withdraw from the DB Financial Group Korea Women’s Open in June due to ankle pain, and has since spent a long time rehabbing the injury. She made her comeback at the Samdasu Masters in Jeju in August, but was unable to play at her best. As a result, her reputation for having one of the best swings on the KLPGA Tour has diminished.
On this day, however, she looked like her old self. After starting on the 10th hole, Lim holed a 1.6-meter birdie on the 11th (par-4) and then reeled off three straight birdies on the 13th through 15th holes. In the second half, she birdied the fourth (par-5) and then birdied the sixth and seventh holes to stay on the front row of the leaderboard.
“Taking a break for about a month and a half was a big decision for me as a player, and I felt like I needed to be decisive, so I decided to take a break. When my matches weren’t going well, I tried practicing more, but it made me feel worse, so I made the decision on my own. I think that’s why I was able to play so strong in the second half.”
“It was very difficult to accept plays that didn’t seem to be my play as my play, and there were many times when I thought, ‘Is this the shot I’m hitting?’ But I learned how to deal with it when it didn’t work out. It’s been one of the toughest times in my career, and I feel like I’ve given myself a chance to rebound today, so it feels great.”먹튀검증
Rookie Hwang Yoo-min, who was upset by rival Bang Shin-shil at the Dongbu Construction Korea Land Trust Championship last week, birdied four straight holes from 15-18 to card a 6-under 66 and sit one shot back in second place. Hwang said, “My iron shots were good today and the greens were very receptive. I didn’t have any major problems off the tee, so I was able to shoot a good score,” said Hwang. “It’s true that I’m more disappointed because Bang Shin-shil won last week and I started with the lead, so I want to do better in the remaining matches.”
Rookie points leader Kim Min-byul carded five birdies without a bogey for a 5-under 67 and is tied for sixth place with Ji Han-sol and Chung Seul-ki. Lee Ye-won, the money and points leader, shot a 4-under 68 and is tied for ninth with Park Joo-young, Seo Yeon-jung, Park Bo-gyeom, Lim Jin-hee and Ko Go-woo.
Bang, who won her second title of the season last week at the Dongbu Construction Korea Land Trust Championship, made six birdies but had four bogeys and a double bogey to finish at even-par 72 and tied for 56th.