Australia’s Minjee Lee, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, and Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit may have a combined five major titles between them. However, they know they’ll need to go the extra mile to outperform the KLPGA Tour elites and stand a chance at winning the KRW1.5 billion Hana Financial Group Championship, which tees off at Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon on Thursday.
Lee, Ko, and Patty can expect stiff competition, especially with all the top 20 KLPGA Tour points leaders of the current season participating this week. At the forefront of the talented local lineup are Lee Ye-won, Park Ji-young, Park Min-ji, and Im Jin-hee. Together, they have clinched victories in eight of the 22 events this season. There is also Kim Su-ji, who’s the defending champion and reigning KLPGA Player of the Year.
KLPGA Tour fans will be thrilled to watch 2022 U.S. Women’s Open winner, Lee in action, as she competes in the Championship for the fourth time. Lee nearly clinched her first KLPGA Tour title when she came in second to Song Ga-eun in the 2021 edition. After missing the cut last year, she’ll be aiming to make amends.
“It’s going to be a challenging week as we get to compete against the best players from the KLPGA. As a LPGA player, we do not have too many opportunities to play and have a chance to win here in Korea.
“But having said that, the level of competition on the KLPGA is indeed very strong and it certainly measures up to the LPGA. As for myself, I’m coming in with a lot more confidence and I hope to show that winning form again this week. And there’s going to be extra pressure as you always want to win a tournament where your sponsor is involved,” said the in-form world number seven Lee, who captured her ninth LPGA Tour title at Kroger Queen City Championship two weeks ago.
World number nine Ko, meanwhile, is keen to capitalise on the opportunity to play in Korea and set her season back on course. While Ko was named the LPGA Tour Player of the Year last season, she has been finding it challenging to reproduce that form this year.
Though she claimed victory at the Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour in February, she only had one top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour season so far.
Throughout her illustrious career, Ko has competed in the KLPGA Tour just four times, with two appearances in the Hana Financial Group Championship. Her best result was a tied fifth in 2021. The New Zealander has secured a victory in Korea with her triumph at the 2013 Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters.
“Golf is a sport where you can be 100 plus in the world ranking and still potentially win a tournament. So, just because you are one of the highest ranked players in the tournament, there’s no guarantee.
“That’s just the nature of the sport. There are much more variables in golf. The field is definitely a very strong one this week as there’s so much quality in the KLPGA field. We just got to go out there and do our best, which is what I’m aiming to do this week, like any other,” said Ko.
As for the 2021 Chevron Championship winner, Patty, last year’s tournament was her only KLPGA Tour appearance to date. She will be eager to prove she can offer the local competitors a stronger challenge following her tied-42nd finish.
“It’s always nice to come back to Korea to compete. I want to bring home many good memories and get more confidence in my game for the rest of the season. The level of competition is going to be high especially when you look at the names in the field this week. So, you cannot take anything for granted as it’s going to be an exciting test of golf for me as I go out there to make a challenge,” said the world number 80.
