Sports Briefs

GOLF

Park In-bee retains top spot in women’s golf ranking

Fresh off her first win on home turf, Korean golfer Park In-bee remained No. 1 on the world ranking released Tuesday.

Park has been sitting at the top since April 23, after starting the year at No. 13. She won the Bank of Hope Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour in March, and last weekend, she captured the title at the Doosan Match Play Championship, her first on the KLPGA Tour.

Park has 7.87 points, 0.88 ahead of No. 2 Feng Shanshan.

Choi Hye-jin, a KLPGA rookie who made the final 16 at the match play event, climbed a spot to a new career high of No. 7.

There are three other Koreans inside the top 10: Park Sung-hyun (No. 4), Ryu So-yeon (No. 6) and Kim In-kyung (No. 8).

Chun In-gee, who finished in second place at Kingsmill Championship on the LPGA Tour last weekend, jumped two spots to No. 13.

FOOTBALL

For Korea, first World Cup match will be a white affair

Team Korea will don its white away kit to kick off next month’s FIFA World Cup in Russia, the Korea Football Association said Tuesday.

Members of the national men’s team will wear white shirts, shorts and socks, while the goalkeepers will be in all black when they play Sweden in their first Group F match on June 18 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

For the second match against Mexico on June 23 in Rostov-on-Don, Korea will have the home kit, with red shirts and black shorts. Goalkeepers will be in green shirts and shorts.

The team will also be back in their familiar red-and-black combo for the final group match against Germany on June 27 in Kazan.

Red has been the defining color of Korean football for many years. The latest World Cup kit, unveiled by Nike in March, draws inspiration from the national flag.

Yonhap