| Park In-bee on the LPGA Tour. © AFP=News1 |
‘Golf Empress’ Park In-bee (34‧KB Financial Group) was tied for 14th on the first day of the Hilton Grand Vacation Tournament of Champions ($1.5 million in total prize money) before the opening match of the 2022 season US Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) tour.
Inbee Park hit a 1-under par 71 with three birdies and two bogeys in the first round of the tournament held at Lake Nona Country Club (par 72, 6617 yards) in Orlando, Florida, USA on the 21st (Korean time).
With this, Inbee Park ranked 14th jointly with Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Michelle Wie West, Ally Ewing (USA), and Nasa Hataoka (Japan). It is 4 strokes behind Gaby Lopez (Mexico), who took the lead alone with a 5-under 67.
Inbee Park started off happily by catching a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4). However, since then, the stability has decreased.
Park In-bee, who had been reluctant to bogey on the 7th hole (par 4), made up for the previous mistake by recording a birdie on the 9th hole (par 5). However, he bogeyed again on the 14th hole (par 4). Fortunately, he cut one more shot on the 17th hole (par 3) and finished the first day with a 1-under par.
Lopez, who won the championship at the end of an overtime match with Inbee Park and Nasa in 2020, took the lead alone and is aiming for the title in two years.
Nelly Corda (USA), the world’s No. 1 player in women’s golf, tied for 2nd with an eagle, 5 birdies, 5 bogeys, and 3 bogeys, 4 under par 68. Nelly Corda’s sister and defending champion Jessica Corda (USA) tied for sixth with a 3-under 69.
Korean players were sluggish. Kim A-rim (27‧ SBI Savings Bank) was tied for 23rd with a 2-over par, and Park Hee-young (35) was tied for 27th with a 4-over-par 76. Lee Mi-rim (32‧ NH Investment & Securities) finished last out of 29 with a 5-over par 77.
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| Annika Sorenstam. © AFP=News1 |
Annika Sorenstam (Sweden), the ‘legend’ of women’s golf, competed in the celebrity category and took the lead.
In this tournament, 29 players who have won the LPGA Tour in the past two years and 50 celebrities will compete in a team.
Tour players play in standard 72-hole stroke play. Celebrities, on the other hand, play in a modified Stableford format to determine their ranking.
Sorenstam scored 33 points with 6 birdies and 6 bogeys on the first day, taking the solo lead.
Golfer Chad Paper with prosthetic legs, and former MLB pitchers Derek Law and Mark Mulder tied for second place with 32 points.
dyk0609@news1.kr
