Kim In-kyung looks to return to form at ShopRite Classic

Golf

Published: 09 Jun. 2022, 15:41

Kim In-kyung looks to return to form at ShopRite Classic

Kim In-kyung in action during the third round of the Women's British Open in St Andrews, Scotland on Aug. 5, 2017. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Kim In-kyung will look to repeat her past success at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, teeing off Friday at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey alongside 18 other Korean golfers this week.

The ShopRite LPGA Classic is a three-day, 54 hole event and will run through Sunday.

The only Korean golfer teeing off Friday that has experience winning the event is Kim, who won the ShopRite Classic in 2017 by outplaying Anna Nordqvist of Sweden by two strokes. Lee Jeong-eun and Jenny Shin of Korea tied for third that year alongside Michelle Wie and Jacqui Concolino of the United States.

There are only three Koreans that have won the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Before Kim, Lee Seon-hwa won the event in 2006 and Pak Se-ri won in 1999.

Kim debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2007 alongside Park In-bee and has won seven LPGA titles including one major, the Ricoh Women's British Open in 2017, the same year she won the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Kim In-Kyung kisses the trophy after her victory in the 2017 Women's British Open Golf Championship at Kingsbarns Golf Links near St. Andrews, Scotland, on Aug. 6, 2017. [AFP/YONHAP]

However after a successful year with her first major victory and first multiple-win season, Kim has not made it back into the winner's circle.

The closest she has come was finishing second at the LPGA Volvik Championship in 2018. Last season, she made six cuts after competing in nine events. This year, she has competed in six events, making the cut in just two. She finished tied for 51st at her first tournament of the season, the JTBC Classic, then also tied for 51st at the most recent U.S. Women's Open.

Joining Kim at the 2022 ShopRite LPGA Classic are eight other former champions: Celine Boutier of France, Mel Reid of England, Nordqvist, Karrie Webb of Australia and Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Cristie Kerr and Angela Stanford of the United States.

Defending champion Boutier matched a career-low score with a final-round 63 in the ShopRite LPGA Classic last year to reach 14-under-par, 199, holding off then-world No. 2 Ko Jin-young, No. 3 Park and Brooke Henderson of Canada by one stroke for the second LPGA Tour title of her career.

Park In-bee tees off at the fourth tee during the final round of the Palos Verdes Championship golf tournament on May 1 in Palos Verdes Estates, California. [AP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young hits off the 16th tee during the third round of the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Park comes back on the golf course after a six-week hiatus. Her most recent tournament was the Palos Verdes Championship presented by Bank of America in April, where she finished tied for 16th. The Hall of Famer is yet to win her first title this season, the closest she got was at the DIO Implant LA Open on April 21 where she finished tied for third.

The 2021 event was contested in October but the tournament is back in its familiar early summer slot this year as the 144-player field compete for a $1.75 million purse.

Alongside Kim In-kyung, Ko and Park In-bee, Kim A-lim, Lee Mi-hyang, Choi Na-yeon, Jenny Shin, Lee Jeong-eun6, Kang Hae-ji, Park Sung-hyun, An Na-rin, Choi Hye-jin, Chella Choi, Chun In-gee, Jeon Ji-won, Lee Jeong-eun5, Hong Yae-eun, Lee Il-hee and Kwak Min-seo will tee off on Friday.

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