Korean golfers to seek continued dominance on US stage
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Park In-bee displays a trophy during the Fubon LPGA at Miramar Golf Country Club at Linko district in New Taipei City, on Nov. 2, 2014. / AFP-Yonhap
By Kwon Ji-youn
Young Korean female golfers will mount new challenges on the U.S. LPGA Tour next year with hopes of extending last year’s successful campaigns.
Park In-bee, 27, racked up three wins last year ― in the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in June, the Wegmans LPGA Championship in August and the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship in November ― while Lee Mi-rim, 25, won two. Korean golfers chalked up 10 wins in the LPGA Tour last year, with Kim Hyo-joo and Baek Kyu-jung taking two each.
Kim won the Evian Championships in September to secure a ticket to the 2015 LPGA Tour, while Baek won the LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship in October.
The No. 8-seeded Kim, in particular, spent the season on top of her game, with four wins in the LPGA Tour of Korea (KLPGA), but Baek will undoubtedly give her a run for her money.
Also out to win are Ryu So-yeon, Hur Mi-jung and Lee Mi-hyang. Together Korean women golfers are expected to surpass 10 wins this season.
Kim Hyo-Joo celebrates with her trophy after winning the Evian Championship, a major tournament on the women’s calendar, on Sept. 14, 2014. / AFP-Yonhap
Jang Ha-na, 23, and Kim Se-young, 22, both power hitters in the KPLGA, will seek spots on the U.S. stage through qualifying school, the annual qualifying tournament for leading golf tours, and will compete to become this year’s rookie. Australian golfer Lee Min-ji and U.S. golfer Alison Lee, who led the LPGA qualifying school, are also looking to hit it big this year.
But they will face competition in overseas ethnic Korean golf stars such as Lydia Ko.
Ko became the youngest rookie of the year, and the youngest to amass $2 million in prize money. She won the season-long points race, and is second behind Park in the world rankings.
Michelle Wie, 26, also seized two wins the LPGA Tour last year to pull herself out of a recent slump, including the LPGA Lotte Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open; while World No. 3 Stacy Lewis won three to pose a serious threat to Korean golfers next year.
Also on the to-do list is Park’s career grand slam.
With five major competitions under her belt including the U.S. Women’s Open, Park will pull off a career grand slam if she wins either the Women’s British Open or the Evian Championship.
Golf legend Park Se-ri also looks to carry out a grand slam by winning the All Nippon Airways (ANA) Inspiration Championship, formerly known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship before ANA became onboard as its title sponsor.
The 2015 LPGA Tour features 33 competitions and will kick off on Jan. 28 with the Coates Golf Championship.
PGA forecasts
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is expecting Rory McIlroy to remain a favorite for multiple wins. McIlroy rested at No. 1 for 22 weeks last year, and secured four wins in the U.S. and Europe Tours. Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson are also at the center of attention, as is Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia.
Korean golfers to note are Bae Sang-moon, 28, and Noh Seung-yul, 24. K. J. Choi (Choi Kyung-ju) will make a comeback this season.
KLPGA to see fierce competition
With said stars gone to win on international stages, the Korean Tour will see fierce competition among rising stars for the KLPGA No. 1 rank. Chun In-gee, Heo Yoon-kyung and Lee Jung-min have each won two to three competitions so far, and are expected to take early leads this year. Kim Seung-hyuk, last season’s KPGA moneyleader and Park Sang-hyun have joined the Japan Golf Tour.
Follow Kwon Ji-youn on Twitter @jennajykwon