Seung-hee Noh fired a blistering 7-under-par on the first day of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour’s KG Ladies Open (800 million won in prize money) to claim her first title.
Noh carded eight birdies and one bogey for a 7-under 65 in the first round of the tournament at the par-72, 6,748-yard Sunny Point Country Club in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, to take sole possession of the lead at 5 p.m. ET.
Noh, who has one win on the KLPGA’s secondary tour, the Dream Tour, after joining in 2019, is yet to win on the regular tour, where she has played since 2020.
A third-place finish at this event in 2021 is her best finish on the regular tour to date, and she has the potential to win her first title at a course she has fond memories of.
The first round was delayed by two hours after the first tee time due to fog.
After teeing off on the first hole, the South Korean was focused, making eight birdies on holes 4-15. Her only bogey came on the 16th hole (par-3).
“I started late due to the fog and thought it would be difficult to control the conditions, but the putts were following me and I was able to play well,” said Noh. “I wanted to beat my best score of 65, but a short putt on the 16th hole was disappointing.”
“It’s exciting to see so many players winning their first individual title at this tournament. I played well today, but my shots didn’t go my way, so I’ll focus on the rest of the round.”
Lee and Hong Jin-young (both 6-under-par 66) finished one shot back of Noh.
Hong, in her second year on the regular tour, comes from a “golfing family. Her grandfather is former Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) president Hong Deok-san, and her father is former KPGA professional Hong Myung-kook.
“Until last year, I learned to play golf from my dad, but nowadays, he supports me silently from behind,” says Hong. “I set a goal of 5-under par every round. I will try to do it in the second and third rounds as well.”
Defending champion Hwang Jung-mi shot a 5-under 67 to begin her title defense at the top of the leaderboard.
Hwang said, “I felt a little bit of pressure because there was a lot of attention on me, but I had good memories from last year, so I was comfortable. My putting is not as bad as it was last year, so I feel more confident that even if I make a mistake, I can make up for it with a putt,” she emphasized.
Hwang Yoo-min, who leads the rookie standings with 1,818 points, also finished the first round at 5-under, while last week’s major champion at the Hanwha Classic, the 2021 winner of the event and last year’s runner-up, Kim Soo-ji, birdied three times without a bogey for a 3-under 69. 카지노사이트