Danielle Kang wins LPGA’s season-opening tournament

Korean-American golfer Danielle Kang, 30, clinched her sixth career win 17 months after her last victory in August 2020 by winning the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

In the fourth round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions held at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orland, Florida on Sunday local time, Kang shoot four-under 68, making six birdies and two bogeys. Kang finished at 16-under 272, three shots clear of Brooke Henderson (Canada), and earned $225,000 in prize money. Kang said without a win, last season was tough in many ways, but she wanted to make a difference this year by changing her diet and gaining weight. She added that maybe thanks to her efforts, she was not nervous or did not get too excited during the game but was in a calm state of mind.

Meanwhile, Park In-bee was on fire, making four birdies in the first nine holes and following Danielle Kang by one shot. But she made five bogeys in the latter nine holes, finishing eighth at seven-under 281. After the game, Park said it was not bad overall and she did well for the first game of the season, but she cannot really tell what went wrong because the weather was so cold in the last two days that she could not hit shots well. The tournament was held in chilly weather, with the daily low temperature dropping to four degrees Celsius that day.


hun@donga.com