Park Min-ji (25), the active leader on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour with 18 wins, is looking for her first victory of the season.
Park will begin play on Saturday (Sept. 16) at Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket, Thailand (Par 72.
6511 yards) in Phuket, Thailand, fired a bogey-free second round of the KLPGA Tour’s Blue Canyon Ladies Championship ($650,000), carding five birdies, including a shot eagle, for a 7-under 65. Park’s two-day total of 5-under 139 puts her in a tie for seventh place, three strokes behind leader Bang Shin-shil (20).
For the second week in a row, Park Min-ji has been on a roll. After finishing in a tie for 12th place in the final round of the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open last week, the South Korean shot seven strokes off the pace to get back into contention for the title.
Park, who started the day on the 10th hole, made her first birdie of the day on the second hole and then followed it up with two consecutive birdies. She then eagled the final hole of the first half to get back to even par, and added two more birdies in the second half to get to seven under par, the most of any player in the field. As a result, Park moved up 38 spots to a tie for seventh place after opening the tournament in a tie for 45th place.
“It feels good to eagle the first shot,” Park said after the match, adding, “I was in good flow, making birdies where I wanted to make them. I’m happy with the way I played the game and stayed calm.”
Instead of traveling overseas for training this season, Park has been working on her game at home. She worked on her fitness and Pilates every day, and reviewed the basics of her swing. It was what she calls “finding the basics. “I was worried that I didn’t practice enough compared to other players, but I didn’t stop working out and practicing, so I think my body has been maintained,” Park said with relief.
“I usually enjoy watching the leaderboard, but today I looked at it before my birdie on the last hole and I was pretty high up the leaderboard. All of a sudden I got a little nervous, but I made birdie and it was thrilling. Tomorrow, I will try to play without thinking about anything and enjoy the thrill of making birdie,” she said.
When asked about her goals for the season, Park said, “I want to reach 20 career wins this season. I have 18 wins, so I hope to win two this season. Personally, I have something I want to do when I reach 20 wins, and I want to announce it then,” he said, adding, “I got sick at the end of last year and didn’t finish the season properly. This season, my goal is to finish the season in one piece.”
Bang Shinsil leads by four strokes for the second straight day. For the second week in a row, Bang will play in the Champions Group heading into the final 메이저사이트 day of the tournament, following last week’s opening round of the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open.
“I’m grateful to be playing in the champion group for the second week in a row, and I think I’ll have a good result if I play with a good attitude,” said Bang, who is looking forward to her first win of the season. “It’s a course where you can’t make mistakes, so I think I’ll have to focus on each shot and pay attention to my accuracy, especially off the tee. I will try to play a safe and favorite distance rather than a lot of distance.”
Meanwhile, the top of the leaderboard is tightly packed heading into the final day of play, setting up a fierce battle for the title. Ladies European Tour (LET) player Hong Jung-min (22) and Choi Min-kyung (30) are chasing Bang Shin-sil by one stroke at 7-under par 137, while Ko Go-woo (22), who shaved six strokes off her score on the day, is in a tie for fourth place with Hwang Yoo-min (21) and Kim Hee-ji (23), two strokes behind Bang Shin-sil. Park Min-ji (25), who shaved seven strokes off her score on the day, and Lee Ye-won (20), Lee So-young (26), and Cho Ah-yeon (24) are just three strokes behind the leaders and have a chance to make an upset.