Power of Korean Women

“I will settle with no compromises. I will win no matter what.”

The vanguard of the Korean team, Pak Se-ri (CJ), affirmed her determination going into the fifth Korea-Japan Women’s Pro-Golf National Competition (purse: 42 million yen).

The day before the opening of the competition on December 3, Pak said after finishing up the Pro-Am tournament at Otsu CC(Par72, 6520 yards), Shiga Prefecture, “I started off with a little tension, but after seeing Japanese players being so determined to win after two years of defeat, I pledged to myself that we will have this third win.”

According to the schedule, Pak Se-ri, the key player of the Korean team with the highest-ever 10 points, will be facing off with Mogi Hiromi (27), who ranked 15th in Japan this year in terms of prize money, at the first round opening on December 4.

The tee-off between Moon Hyun-hee (Hi Mart) and Miyazato Ai (19), or Japan’s Teen Superstar with a gallery of a thousand fans, is the match to watch on the first day. Moon expressed her confidence, saying, “I will win the hearts of Miyazato’s gallery.”

The first game of 12 matches of the first day will be played by Song Bo-bae (Superior) and Kimura Toshimi (36), while Han Hee-won (Fila Korea) and Japanese Champion Fudo Yuri (28) play against one another, and Kim Cho-rong (20), a Korean-American player who won the Korean uniform after a controversy over her qualification, will be competing with Koga Miho (22).

It is expected to start raining, however, from the afternoon of December 4 over to the next day, leaving much anticipation of unexpected results. SBS Golf channel will be broadcasting the competition live at 12:50 p.m. on both days.

Young-Sik Ahn ysahn@donga.com