Kim Su-ji looks to defend title at KG Edaily Ladies Open

Kim Su-ji tees off on the 11th hole during the first round of the Daebo hausD Open at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi on July 8. [KLPGA]

Kim Su-ji will look to defend her title as the 11th KG Edaily Ladies Open tees off at Sunning Point in Yongin, Gyeonggi on Friday.

Last year, Kim won her first-ever KLPGA trophy at the KG Edaily Ladies Open after smashing through the final round with five birdies and one bogey for four-under-par, 68, bringing her final score to 15-under-par, 201, two strokes better than Lee So-mi, who finished in second place with 13-under-par, 203.

That win came in the 115th start of Kim's career. Only eight other players in the Tour's history have played in more events before finally taking home their first trophy.

Prior to last year's win, Kim had never even breached the top 20 in the KLPGA money rankings since her debut in 2017. Last year, she fell to 84th in the ranking and lost her spot on the Tour. She had to play through a seeding qualifier just to return to the top flight for 2021.

She enters this week in good form after finishing fourth at the High1 Resort Ladies Open on Aug. 21 and then third at the Hanwha Classic 2022 last week.

Kim will not only be looking to defend her title but also will be keeping an eye out for her first win of the season. She has so far had a good season. Kim has only missed the cut at one event, the Lotte Rent-a-Car Open, which was her first competition of this year. Kim has nine top-10 finishes including a runner-up finish at the Lotte Open in June.

"My shots and putting form is on point right now," said Kim during a pre-tournament interview on Thursday.

"I have finished in the top 10 of the KG Edaily Ladies Open every year except the first time I competed in 2017. I am confident about this golf course and I like it very much. I want to enjoy my four days here and try my best to defend my title."

After this week’s competition, the KLPGA will be taking a week's hiatus due to the Elcru-TV Chosun Pro Celebrity being canceled.

Last year's Elcru-TV Chosun Pro Celebrity was the inaugural event, the pro-celebrity format being a new initiative for the Tour. Unlike other pro-am tournaments, only the KLPGA golfers played the first two rounds, then the top 60 golfers who made the cut were joined by amateur celebrity golfers.

However, the second edition that was scheduled to be held from Sep. 9 to Sep. 12 at Orange Dunes Golf Club in Yeongjong Island, Incheon will not be held this year.

It was announced Wednesday that the sponsor of the event, DSME Construction, was unable to book the golf course for the competition due to financial problems and will owe the KLPGA Tour 75 percent of the purse as a penalty for breach of contract. Elcru-TV Chosun Pro Celebrity had at the start of this season increased its purse from 600 million won to 700 million won.

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