Choi Hye-jin (24) and Bang Shin-shil (19), the hottest newcomers to the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour, will compete in the E1 Charity Open ($900 million in prize money).
The E1 Charity Open, the 10th event on the KLPGA Tour for the 2023 season, will be held at Seongmunan Country Club (Par 72) in Wonju, Gangwon Province, for three days starting on April 26.
Headlining the field are Choi Hye-jin, who plays on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, and Bang Shin-shil, who has made waves on the KLPGA Tour with her long drives of nearly 300 yards.
Choi, who joined the LPGA Tour last year and finished sixth on the money list without a win, is returning to Korea for the first time in a year and a half since the final event of 2021, the SK Shielders-SK Telecom Championship. She played in the Hana Financial Singapore Women’s Open last December and finished tied for 18th, but that event was held in Singapore.
Bang will be looking for another victory after competing in four tournaments on the regular tour this season, playing in the championship group on two occasions. With just four tournaments under his belt, Bang has climbed to 21st on the season’s money list. Although she is not ranked because her number of tournaments did not exceed 50 percent, she earned a total of 381 Rookie of the Year points, the third most in the category behind first-place Kim Min-byul (19-801) and second-place Hwang Yoo-min (20-574).
Defending champion Jung Yun-ji (23) will be looking for her first back-to-back titles. “It’s my first time competing as the defending champion, so I’m both excited and nervous,” said Jung, who won her first title at this event last year. Last year, I won the tournament in five overtime games, so many people recognized me and supported me, which has been a great support. So winning my first title last year meant a lot to me,” he said.
“Actually, I’m not putting well lately. For this tournament, I’m going to pay the most attention to my putt distance. I know it’s really hard to defend my title. However, I am determined to play a good game so that when I think of ‘E1 Charity Open’, I will think of Jung Yoon-ji.”
With Sung Yoo-jin, 23, the winner of last week’s Doosan Match Play Championship, withdrawing from the tournament due to a sore thumb, Park Hyun-kyung, 23, who finished runner-up to Sung, will be looking for her first win of the season.
“I’m still not happy with my shots, but my short game around the greens and my putts have been going well,” said Park, who has three runner-up finishes this season without a win and has moved up to second on the money list. I will try to perfect my shot feeling in this tournament.”
Seongmun An Country Club is a premium golf course that opened last September and will be hosting its first KLPGA Tour event. The Korean name of the course is a play on the old local name of ‘Seongmun’, which means ‘gate’, as the two huge rock walls are said to be like gates guarding a village. The entire fairway is made up of the finest bentgrass.
The signature hole is especially evident, where long hitters can aim for a two-on. The ninth hole (par 5) is the decisive hole of the round, requiring a bold approach over a right bunker between a large lake and a rocky cliff. The 16th (par 5), a two-on approach to the left fairway near a mountain stream, will be the final test.
The 12th hole (par 3), an island green on a large lake, is a strategic hole where the wind and club selection are important.토토사이트
“Watching the world-class KLPGA Tour players compete for the first time and learning about their strategies and tactics on the course will give you a great sense of the course’s charm,” said So-yeon Lee, Head of Golf at HDC Resorts.