Amy Yang, Ko Jin-young lead Korean contingent at AIG Women's Open

Golf

Amy Yang, Ko Jin-young lead Korean contingent at AIG Women's Open

Published: 21 Aug. 2024, 15:14 Updated: 21 Aug. 2024, 17:07

Korea's Amy Yang in action during the first round of the women's golf tournament at the Paris Olympics at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France on Aug. 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Fifteen Korean golfers are set to tee off at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open in Fife, Scotland Thursday for a shot at winning the final LPGA major of the year.

A total of 144 golfers are headed to the Old Course at St Andrews, including Korea’s Shin Ji-yai, who won the tournament in 2008 and 2012, and Kim In-kyung, the tournament’s most recent Korean champion — winning in 2017.

Reigning champion Lilia Vu of the United States will also be in Scotland to defend her title.

The AIG Women’s Open, better known as the Women’s British Open, marks the fifth and final major of the 2024 LPGA season. It’s also the last chance for a handful of golfers to add points toward their standings for the Annika Major Award, given to the player with the best record over all five major tournaments.

Joining the pack will be Amy Yang, who won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June — her first major title after 16 years on Tour. And she enters the Women’s British Open off a strong run in Paris.

She was the highest-placed Korean golfer at the Paris Olympics, earning her spot at the Games with her Women’s PGA Championship win, tying for fourth with a six-under-par, 282.

Yang is tied for second place on the Annika Award table, matching world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States with 60 points as of press time Wednesday. Japan’s Yuka Saso, who won the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open, sits in first place, with 70 points.

Yang, who heads into the Women’s British Open at No. 4 on the Rolex Rankings, one spot behind No. 3 Ko Jin-young, has had two big wins over the last calendar year. She won the 2023 CME Group Tour Championship, which carries the biggest purse of the season, after a nearly four-year title drought.

The 35-year-old veteran is so far the only Korean golfer to have won a tournament on the 2024 LPGA Tour.

Ko, whose last victory on Tour came from the Cognizant Founders’ Cup in May 2023, is the highest-ranked Korean golfer among the 144-player field. She came close to winning her first tournament of the season at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, tying for second while Yang ended on top.

Korea's Ko Jin-young in action at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France on Aug. 7 during the first round of the women's golf tournament at the Paris Olympics. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The last time Ko won a major was in 2019, the year she won both the ANA Inspiration — now The Chevron Championship — and the Evian Championship as the recipient of that season’s Annika Award.

Ko was also at the Paris Olympics but was well out of medal contention, finishing tied for 23rd with a par, 288, alongside fellow Korean golfer Kim Hyo-joo. But Ko enters the field after a tied-sixth finish at last week’s ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open.

Kim will also be teeing off in Scotland Thursday. Her last victory was at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America in The Colony, Texas in October 2023. She won the 2014 Evian Championship as a non-member to earn her LPGA Tour card and make her rookie debut in 2015.

Neither of the previous Korean Women’s British Open champions, Shin and Kim In-kyung, have recorded any major LPGA victories since they lifted the trophy at the Old Course. Shin notched one more LPGA title after her 2012 British Open win, the 2013 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, while Kim In-kyung has yet to win another tournament since her 2017 victory.

Korea's Shin Ji-yai lines up a putt on the 13th green during the first round of the U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster Country Club on May 30 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. [AFP/YONHAP]

Kim’s sole top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour this year was with Kang Hae-ji at the Dow Championship in Midland, Michigan in June where they tied for third with Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup and Nanna Koerstz Madsen.

Kim will be among the first to tee off Thursday, at 7 a.m. local time. Kang is also joining the field.

There are two rookies among the Korean contingent headed to the course: Im Jin-hee and Lee So-mi. Both have yet to win their first LPGA tournament. Im has so far recorded two top-10 finishes, both in April, including a solo eighth-place finish at the Chevron Championship.

Lee has finished within the top 10 just once but did it much more recently, tying for fifth place at the Portland Classic in August — although that field was absent a slate of top golfers who were in Paris ahead of the Olympic women’s golf tournament.

Also set to make an appearance at St. Andrews are Jenny Shin, Kim Sei-young, Lee Mi-hyang, Ryu Hae-ran, Kim A-lim, An Na-rin and Choi Hye-jin.

Kim Sei-young, a 12-time LPGA champion, has one major under her belt — the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship, one of her last wins on Tour. Her most recent victory was the 2020 Pelican Women’s Championship, now called the Annika.

And Kim A-lim was the 2020 US. Women’s Open champion, playing as a non-member.

Shin, Lee Mi-hyang and Ryu all have at least one title under their belt while An and Choi are still after their first.

It’s set to be a windy weekend in St Andrews, with heavy rain expected for Thursday. It’s also expected to rain Friday with sun and some showers over the weekend.

The Women’s British Open last visited the Old Course in 2013 when the tournament was cut short due to rain on the final day.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]