Choi Hye-jin gears up to defend her title at S-Oil Championship

Star golfer Choi Hye-jin of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) got off to a good start towards her first win of the season.

Choi competed against Kim Hyo-joo and Kim Sei-young, who play on the LPGA Tour, in the same group during the first round of the S-Oil Championship held at Elysian Jeju Country Club on Jeju Island on Friday.

Kim Hyo-joo and Kim Sei-young won the first place and the second place, respectively at the Lotte Cantata Ladies Open held last week after the sudden-death playoff. Choi finished 8th at the KLPGA event last week. This time, however, Choi took the lead in the first round, overtaking the two.

Choi reached the top of the leaderboard on Friday with nine birdies and one bogey, finishing 8-under 64. She scored three back-to-back birdies two times on Friday. Although Choi had the most wins (5 wins) and won the Best Female Golfer award last season, she is yet to claim her season-first victory this year. She raised expectations for her first win of the season, showing a great performance on the first day. “I claimed two out of five wins on Jeju Island last year. The country club here suits my game,” said Choi.

Choi has never won the same event for two years in a row although she has nine career KLPGA wins. “I’d really love to defend my title for once,” Choi said. “Heavy rain and strong winds are expected for the next two days but I’m not bad on rainy days. I’ll try not to lose my concentration.”


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com