There were six field stars on the stage, but the spotlight was focused on two golfers: South Korea’s Park Sung-hyun (25) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (23). As if professional boxers with a title match ahead, the world’s No. 1 golfer and the star player ranked right below were showered with a barrage of questions at the press briefing of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) KEB Hana Bank Championship in Incheon on Monday.
The two golfers played at the UL International Crown Sunday, an LPGA team match play competition, where Jutanugarn won her battle against Park by making back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th holes to take a 2UP lead and win the match 2&1. They will have a return match in the competition that will start Thursday.
Their world rankings may change depending on the championship’s result. Groups for the first round will be announced Tuesday, and there is a possibility that the two are included in the same group.
“There isn’t a rivalry between me and Jutanugarn. I think competitions like these will help me grow,” Park said.
Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com