A match between the overseas group represented by the American Ladies Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour and the Korean Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour will take place in Cheongna, Incheon.
The KLPGA Tour Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won) will open at Incheon Bears Best Cheongna (par 72) for four days starting on the 21st. Although this tournament is a KLPGA Tour tournament, many foreign players participate as it is one of the tournaments organized by the Asia Golf Players Forum (AGLF). This is expected to be an opportunity to check the international competitiveness of KLPGA Tour players.
Representative overseas players participating this year are Lydia Go, a Korean from New Zealand, and Lee Min-ji, a Korean from Australia. Lydia Go has had poor performance recently, but her performance in Korean competitions is good, including winning the BMW Ladies Championship, an LPGA tour event held in Korea last year. Lee Min-ji is on the rise after winning the trophy for the first time in a long time at the recently held LPGA Tour Kroger Queen City Championship. At the official press conference held on the 20th ahead of the opening, Lee Min-ji expressed her determination, saying, “Although my nationality is Australian, Korea is always in my heart. As this is the main sponsor competition, I definitely want to win.”
Choi Hye-jin, who plays on the LPGA Tour, will also participate. Choi Hye-jin has experience winning the KLPGA Tour Lotte Open held at the same course last June, so she is one of the players expected to perform in the top tier. In addition to these, Patty Tabatanakat (Thailand),먹튀검증 winner of the 2021 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award, and Yokomine Sakura (Japan), who has won a total of 23 wins on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf (JLPGA) Tour, will participate and compete for the championship with a Korean player.
Representative KLPGA Tour players who will compete include Kim Su-ji, who won this tournament last year, and Lee Ye-won, who ranks first in prize money and grand prize points this season. The two are expected to compete fiercely in this competition as they are competing for first and second place in prize money and grand prize points. In addition, Park Min-ji, Park Ji-young, and Lim Jin-hee are expected to participate and compete for the championship.
Suji Kim said, “Many prominent players from overseas have come, so even though it is a domestic competition, it feels like an overseas competition. I hope it will be a week where I can learn and feel while playing with overseas players like Lee Min-ji and Lydia Ko.” Lee Ye-won also raised her expectations, saying, “I think just watching Lydia Go’s older sister, who I used to only watch on TV, play next to her will help me a lot.”