Kim Hyo-joo with strong stamina and gut makes strides

Kim Hyo-joo, who conquered the KLPGA tour this season, will start a new season early on. The 19-year-old golf champion departed Korea on Tuesday to participate in the Hyundai Motor China Women’s Open, the opening championship of the 2015 KLPGA season, which will take place at Mission Hills Country Club (par 72) in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China on Friday.

“I expected that I would be more leisurely after the end of the season, but I am even busier," Kim said with a smile. It is in some ways better to participate in a championship than being leisurely.” She became a highly popular guest at all different award ceremonies this month. She was named the MVP after successfully leading the Korean team to victory in the Korea-Japan competition held in Japan last week. Having returned to Korea on Monday after the Japan event, she acquired seven trophies at the KLPGA Tour Grand Awards on Tuesday.

Kim said, “I think I have strong stamina because I have so good physical constitution that I completely fall asleep the moment I lean my back on something.” She originally intended to skip the upcoming competition to control her physical conditions. However, she could hardly afford to decline earnest requests by the organizer and KLPGA. Personally, her decision was also influenced by the fact she won her first career victory at the 2012 event of the championship after turning pro.

After the championship, Kim will undergo eyesight correction surgery that she has been postponing due to her tight schedules. After a two-week recovery period, she will take a training session in Thailand in the New Year holiday, before making debut at the LPGA in the U.S.

Baek Kyu-jung, 19, the winner of this season’s best rookie award, and Jang Ha-na, 22, who passed the final round of the LPGA tour qualifying school, will also play at the Korean championship, before advancing to the U.S. tour next year. Jang seeks her second consecutive title at the championship. Lee Mi-hyang and Heo Mi-jeong, who are active overseas and who won titles at this year’s LPGA tour, will play as invited golfers. Heo Yoon-kyung, who ranked second in purse ranking this season, will not participate in the event.