Park Min-ji looks to defend another title at Korea Women's Open

Golf

Published: 15 Jun. 2022, 16:09

Park Min-ji looks to defend another title at Korea Women's Open

Park Min-ji celebrates after sinking her eagle putt in the final round of the Celltrion Queens Masters held at Seolhaeone country club in Yangyang, Gangwon, on June 12. [KLPGA]

Park Min-ji will be looking to defend her title for the second week in a row at the DB Group Korea Women's Open Golf Championship, the second KLPGA major event of the season, at Rainbowhills in Eumseong, North Chungcheong.

Park last week became the first golfer to defend her title this season, clinching a wire-to-wire victory at the Celltrion Queens Masters held at Seolhaeone country club in Yangyang, Gangwon.

Park has already defended her title twice this season and is the only golfer to have won multiple titles.

Park picked up her first KLPGA Tour victory of the season on May 15 at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, carding an 11-under-par, 205, one stroke ahead of Hwang Jeong-mee, to defend her 2021 title.

Park's second title in just the 10th event of the season may be a signal that she is set to repeat her explosive performance from last season.

Park Min-ji tees off on the first hole of the final round of the DB Group Korea Women's Open at Rainbow Hills Country Club in Eumseong, North Chungcheong, on June 20, 2021. [KOREA WOMEN'S OPEN ORGANIZING COMMITTEE]

Last season, Park picked up her fifth win of the 2021 season at the Korea Golf Association's DB Group Korea Women's Open at Rainbow Hills Country Club in Eumseong, North Chungcheong.

Park, at that point, had won half of the 10 events on the KLPGA Tour of the 2021 season, taking the Celltrion Queens Masters title and Korea Women's Open Golf Championship on consecutive weekends.

Park's first win was in April at the Nexen Saint Nine Masters 2021 and her second at the 2021 NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship. Park's third win came a week after her second, at the Doosan Match Play Championship. Her fourth win came at the Celltrion Queens Masters Open, after she sat out the Lotte Open to recharge. Park picked up her fifth win at the DB Group Korea Women's Open in June, then won her sixth title at the Daebo hausD Open. She has won six titles already at her 11th event of the season and the 13th KLPGA event of the season.

Park was named the KLPGA Player of the Year after winning six titles last season. The most titles won on the KLPGA Tour in a single season is nine, a record held by Shin Ji-yai.

The Korea Women’s Open will be played at Rainbow Hills this year, as it was last year, a notoriously difficult course filled with water hazards and high tees that offer little visibility. The course is so notoriously difficult that last year, 10 tee shots on the par-4 12th went straight into the water on the final day alone.

Park will be looking to repeat her past success on the difficult golf course and achieve her third win of the season at the second major. The Korea Women’s Open will run from Thursday to Sunday.

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