Competitive field gathers for first major of LPGA season

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Competitive field gathers for first major of LPGA season

Ko Jin-young tees off on the third hole during the second round of the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol at Aviara Golf Club on March 25 in Carlsbad, California. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young tees off on the third hole during the second round of the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol at Aviara Golf Club on March 25 in Carlsbad, California. [AFP/YONHAP]

 
The LPGA Tour continues its West Coast swing on Thursday with the first major championship of the 2022 season — the 51st edition of The Chevron Championship at Rancho Mirage, California.
 
Korea's Ryu So-yeon, Park In-bee, Lee Mi-rim and Ko Jin-young are among the recent winners at the tournament, which was previously called the ANA Inspiration, with Park winning in 2013, Ryu in 2017, Ko in 2019 and Lee in 2020.
 
For spectators and the champions themselves, one of the most memorable aspects of the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage is the infamous Poppie's Pond, which the winner traditionally jumps in at the end of the tournament. Sadly that tradition is set to come to an end — this year will be the last time the tournament is held in Rancho Mirage as Chevron have decided to relocate the tournament to Texas starting next year.
 
Ryu, Park, Lee and Ko have all made that celebratory jump into Poppie's Pond in the past and will be hoping to repeat that journey this Sunday. The four will be joining a highly-competitive 115-player field, including 19 of the top 20 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. Only No. 2 Nelly Korda of the United States will not be teeing off after being diagnosed with a blood clot in her arm.
 
All golfers are competing for an increased purse of $5 million, an increase made by new title sponsor Chevron in their effort to elevate the historic major championship. In tandem with the increased interest in the LPGA Tour, The Chevron Championship is one of a number of tournaments to increase their purse for the 2022 season.
 
This season, the total LPGA Tour purse has increased to $85.7 million across the 34 official events. Of the nine tournaments increasing their purse for the 2022 season, one of the three biggest is The Chevron Championship, where the purse is now $1.9 million higher than in 2021. The AIG Women’s Open has also increased its purse by $1.3 million and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where Ko won her last trophy of 2021, will increase its purse by $2 million.  
 
Ko Jin-young tees off on the second hole during the third round of the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol at Aviara Golf Club on March 26 in Carlsbad, California.  [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young tees off on the second hole during the third round of the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol at Aviara Golf Club on March 26 in Carlsbad, California. [AFP/YONHAP]

 
World No.1 Ko, will be looking to win that larger purse after missing out on winning her second title last week at the JTBC Classic, where she finished tied for fourth.  
 
“I'm happy to be back here, first major of the year,” said Ko in a pre-tournament interview. “I have great memories here, so I'm happy.”
 
Despite only being her third tournament this season, Ko already has one win, at the HSBC Women’s World Championship earlier this month. She has a total of 13 wins on the LPGA Tour, two of which are majors. Both majors were won in 2019, at the ANA Inspiration and The Evian Championship.  
 
“Yeah, of course I can,” Ko answered when asked if she expects to win another major this week. “Major competitions are a motivation itself. That makes me a lot more focused.”
 
Ko is an all-round player, her driver, iron shots and putting are all flawless and she has has regularly said that she does not believe she has any specific strengths or weaknesses. However, this time she will be focusing on her short irons.  
 
“Well, under 100 meters wasn't good last week so I had a lot of wedge game yesterday on the range,” said Ko. “I practice a lot with my caddie. Yeah, I hope better to play under 100 meters in this week.”
 
Alongside Ryu, Park, Lee and Ko, who are looking to become the first two-time Korean winners at the tournament, an additional 18 Korean golfers will tee off on Thursday, including KLPGA golfer Lim Hee-jeong who joins the field as a guest.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]
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