Rio 2016: Korean golfers ignite golden dreams

Park In-bee hits her tee shot on the seventh hole during the first round of the women’s golf event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday. / AP-Yonhap

Park In-bee, Kim Sei-young tied for 2nd

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

South Korean golfers lived up to the expectations of their homeland in the opening round of the Rio Olympics women’s golf tournament on Wednesday.

Park In-bee and Kim Sei-young fired bogey-free five-under 66s at the par-71, 6,245-yard Olympic Golf Course. They’re tied for second place in a field of 60. One shot ahead of Park and Kim is Ariya Jutanugarn, the world No.2 from Thailand.

Park, an LPGA Hall of Famer, made a birdie at the par-5 fifth and par-4 seventh on the front nine. After making the turn in a 2-under 33, she added three consecutive birdies at holes 10, 11 and 12.

Park has battled a thumb injury all season while preparing for the Olympic golf tournament. She still continues to deal with the injury. She missed the cut in her tune-up for the Olympic Games at a recent tournament on the Korean LPGA.

Kim Sei-young chips to the green on the first hole during the first round of the women’s golf event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday. / Yonhap

Ranked 6th in the world, Kim Sei-young, 23, banged a huge tee shot into the fairway over a bunker. She birdied the first hole and had a pleasant start in the first round of the 2016 Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro.

Playing in the second-to-last group, Kim fired a 5-under 66 with five birdies and no bogies. She birdied the par-5 first, par-3 fourth, par-4 seventh, par-5 10th and par-5 18th of the Rio Olympic Golf Course.

Chun In-gee, 22, playing in the third group with Denmark’s Broch Larsen and Russia’s Paula Reto, whacked her opening tee shot solidly down the fairway.

Chun, who won the U.S. Women’s Open championship last year, hit great second and third shots, birdying the par-5 first hole. That boded well. Chun reached the par-4 second hole in three shots but made a great putt to save par. Chun shot a one-under 70, collecting five birdies against four bogeys. She is tied for 19th with six other competitors among 60 players. She had a more up-and-down day but made a decent start with her first round.

Paired with Minjee Lee of Australia and Sandra Gal of Germany, Yang Hee-young, 27, sent her first tee shot into the fairway bunker, a bad move. At the par-5 first hole, she reached the green in three shots, making par. Yang shot a two-over 73. She birdied the par-3 fourth and par-4 ninth, bogeying four holes, putting her in a five-way tie for 39th place. But still, she has chances to win a medal as she has three more days to play.

“My shots didn’t go where I wanted,” Yang told reporters. “I didn’t hit a lot of fairways today, and put myself in a difficult position to hit my approach shots. I barely saved par on some holes.” Yang hit eight of 13 fairways, and reached 10 greens in regulation. Chances are she did not stand the correct distance from the ball, or she placed her ball too far forward toward her left foot or too far backward toward her right foot at address. Yang added she was happy with her short game including putting.

Jutanugarn having four LPGA Tour wins this year incurred a double bogey and a bogey at the par-3 fourth and par-4 11th respectively. But she made seven birdies and an eagle for an overall score of a 6-under 65. Jutanugarn is the sole leader after the first round.

Lydia Ko, the world’s top player and an ethnic Korean from New Zealand shot a two-under 69, tied for 11th with seven other players including Australia’s Lee.

Kim Jeong-kyoo is a Korea Times golf columnist. He can be reached at kimjstar@hanmail.net.