PLK Pacificlinks Championship tees off Friday for first time in 3 years

Golf

Published: 15 Dec. 2022, 15:22

PLK Pacificlinks Championship tees off Friday for first time in 3 years

Lee So-young tees off on the 12th hole of the second round of the Singapore Women's Open on Dec. 10 at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore. [KLPGA]

The second tournament of the 2023 KLPGA season, the PLK Pacificlinks Championship with SBS Golf, tees off Friday at the Twin Doves Golf Club in Vietnam.

The tournament will be held for the first time in three years with PLK as the new sponsor and has a total purse of 700 million won ($538,000). The total of 96 players includes 88 KLPGA players, three players from the Vietnam Golf Association, and five recommended players. The five recommended include three amateur golfers Kwak Ye-bin, Park Ye-ji and Cherry Lim. LPGA golfer Yealimi Noh will also join the field.

While past champions Lee Da-yeon, Park Ji-young and Choi Hye-jin will miss out this week, Lee So-young, who finished runner-up once at the 2018 Pacificlinks Championship, will once again throw her hat into the ring.

“I think my iron shots are good when I play at the Twin Doves Golf Club,” said Lee So-young. “But the greens are difficult, so I think this week I can get good results if I play well on the green.”

Lee is currently on top form after finishing second at the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open last week.

“I usually have a difficult year on odd years and only win on even years,” said Lee So-young. “I want to overcome that jinx this season and not settle for just making the cut but try to play more aggressively for a win.”

Alongside Lee So-young, Park Hyun-kyung and Hong Jung-min also finished tied for second with a total score of 10-under, 134, one stroke behind Park Ji-young, at the opening match of the 2023 KLPGA season, the Singapore Women's Open.

Last week’s Singapore Women’s Open was shortened to two rounds due to inclement weather. Only the first seven groups were able to tee off on the course in the final round before the tournament was halted at 8:15 a.m. The decision to cancel the final round was made after about three hours at 11:30 a.m., and Park Ji-young who was topping the leaderboard after round two was named the winner.

The KLPGA Tour regulations dictate that matches where players complete 36 holes can be considered as official competitions and the full purse can be given out.

Having narrowly missed out on the prize last week, Park Hyun-kyung and Hong will both have their eyes fixed on the trophy this week in Thailand.

Lee So-mi tees off on the 14th hole of the opening round of the Singapore Women's Open on Dec. 9 at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore. [KLPGA]

Lee So-mi, who won two consecutive titles in the 2022 season, also has her eye on the prize this week. Lee So-mi carded a 270 at the SK Networks · Seoul Economics Ladies Classic in October to win her first title of the 2022 season, then pulled off the stunt of winning a second consecutive title at the S-OIL Championship the following week.

“I am trying to keep my shot form from the two wins,” said Lee So-mi. “I try to practice more especially because it was cold playing in Korea but warm here.”

Lee So-mi had finished runner-up at this event in 2019 when it was called the Hyosung Championship with SBS Golf.

“My results at this event in 2019 were good, but I think I am a different golfer now compared to then,” said Lee So-mi.

“I don’t want to try to repeat my 2019 performance and form, but I want to play to my own style. I will prepare the best that I can and put on a good match.”

For rookie golfer Hwang You-min, this week will mark her first time qualifying for an official KLPGA event. Hwang made a name for herself on the Tour last May when she competed for the trophy against KLPGA star Park Min-ji at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship.

“I am grateful and happy that people have high expectations for me,” said Hwang. “That makes me want to play even better on the Tour, and although I am playing overseas for two weeks straight, I am trying to get some good sleep and keep my form up there.”

Last week at the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open, Hwang was able to finish 26th, carding a 69 in the first round and a 71 in the second.

“I am competing to win at every event,” said Hwang. “That goes the same for this week. I want to play the best that I can.”

As a three-day, 54 hole event, the PLK Pacificlinks Championship with SBS Golf will tee off Friday at the Twin Doves Golf Club in Vietnam and end Sunday.

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