I was shaking every hole and every shot. It was the mindset of ‘let’s just avoid being in the last place’.”
Yoon Chae-young (36), the “synonymous with persistence,” hit a tee shot in the last game at the 45th KLPGA Championship (total prize money of 1.3 billion won) at the first major tournament of the Korea Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour 2023 season.
In the first round of the tournament held at Lakewood Country Club (par 72) in Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 27th, Yoon Chae-young recorded 3 birdies and 3 bogies alternately to record an even par 72.
Yoon Chae-young, who debuted on the KLPGA Tour in 2006, has only won once. But what’s even more amazing is that in her 17 years she has never been relegated to the second division tour until last year. Since 2006, he has kept the KLPGA tour seed for 11 consecutive years. In the 2014 Jeju Samdasoo Masters, she defeated Inbi Park, the empress of golf, and created a myth of ‘159 matches, 160th class’. In 2017, through the qualifying tournament, the stage was moved to the Japan Women’s Professional Golf (JLPGA) tour, and until last year, it was active on the first division stage for six consecutive years. Although he did not win, he showed off his potential by finishing runner-up four times in 159 matches.
Yoon Chae-young, who played her retirement match on the JLPGA tour last month at the club-sponsored Yamaha Ladies Open, will play her last match as a player in this tournament. He said, “I have been with Chris F&C, the title sponsor of the tournament, for almost 10 years. “It is a great honor for me to retire from a sponsored competition from a player’s point of view,” he said.
Yoon Chae-young’s resolution for the retirement game is also great. She accompanied her sister, Yoon Seong-ah, a professional golfer, as her caddy, and the driver borrowed Hongran’s club, who retired last year. He said, “I lost a lot of strength and weight, so the driver I used until last year felt a little stronger. I tried swinging her sister’s club while rounding with Hongran’s older sister, who retired last year, and it felt really good,” he explained.
On her first day marking the end of her playing career, Yoon Chae-young touted as an even par. As if she was not relaxed, she bogeyed on the 1st (par 5) and 3rd (par 4) holes, but she caught her first birdie on the 4th hole (par 4) 16m away. She missed the 2m par putt in the 10th hole (par 4) and wrote down a three putt bogey. In the 11th hole (par 5), she added a birdie by putting the third shot 1.5m away from the pin.
Yoon Chae-young, who kept the score by putting a formidable par putt 4m away in the 13th hole (par 4), made up for all lost points by adding a birdie in the 15th hole (par 5).
After finishing the first round, Yoon Chae-young said바카라사이트, “It is true that I was more depressed this week because I missed the cut in the last tournament in Japan.” She lacked confidence and was under a lot of pressure, so she practiced every day for a week and came out to this competition,” she said. Even on this day, she performed well, but she showed enthusiasm, saying that she did not like the shot, so she would go after more driver practice.
He said, “In the past, I had mental strength and confidence when I played. Even though it was difficult, she overcame it with mental strength, but when I had to go over last year, I saw myself crumbling and I thought I should stop now,” she confessed about her retirement.
Yoon Chae-young, who said she would enjoy it wonderfully as it was the last match, made up her mind, saying, “I will do my best to reach the top ranks.”
Shinsil Bang (19), a member of the national team, scored 8 birdies in his first KLPGA Tour event as a pro, hitting 5-under-par 67, the lowest score among players in the morning group. Bang Sin-sil finished 40th in the KLPGA Tour seed rankings last year and is playing on the Dream Tour this year.
Starting with a bogey on the first hole (par 5) and then a double bogey on the second hole (par 4), he showed off his spirit by catching 8 birdies, including 5 birdies in a row, in 16 holes. Bang Shin-sil said, “I was shaken because I couldn’t adapt to the green speed of the regular tour at the beginning of the game.” He said, “It is difficult to pin position, so I will pay attention to attacking the second shot, and I will also pay attention to adjusting the speed to match the fast green speed.”
Meanwhile, Han Jin-seon (26) cheered as she put her tee shot into the hole at once in the 17th hole (par 3), 143 yards away. As a result of her hole-in-one injury, she received a Mercedes-Benz The New EQE vehicle worth 92 million won.