JEJU WEEKLY
Last Update : 2013.11.4 17:10
LeisureNews
Kim Hyun Ji wins prestigious golf tournamentKoreans defend home turf well at Haevichi Country Club, Jeju
ÆùƮŰ¿ì±â ÆùÆ®ÁÙÀ̱â ÇÁ¸°Æ®Çϱ⠸ÞÀϺ¸³»±â ½Å°íÇϱâ
½ÂÀÎ 2010.11.14  08:42:10
Æ®À§ÅÍ ÆäÀ̽ººÏ ¹ÌÅõµ¥ÀÌ ¿äÁò ³×À̹ö ±¸±Û msn
   
¡ã Melissa Reid in action. Photo by Alpha Newberry

Golfer Kim Hyun Ji has won the Daishin Securities Tomato M Korea European Ladies Masters, held at Haevichi Country Club, Nov. 5 to 7. It is the second year in a row the 22-year-old has won the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Ladies’ European Tour, and the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association. Last year’s victory was her first professional win.

Unlike like last year, the skies were clear and minimal wind allowed a winning score seven strokes less than the previous tournament. Conditions for spectators were excellent with no overcrowding and fans were permitted close proximity to the action.

In an extraordinary show of skill, Kim came back from being behind four strokes after two rounds, to win on the third day with an astounding score of 65 and 208 overall. She was able to edge out 19-year-old Yang Soo Jin, who was tied for the lead on the second day, as well as Seo Hee Kyung who rallied to tie Yang for second with two birdies on the 17th and 18th holes. Kim Hyun Ji also bested Melissa Reid of England, who was not able to maintain her lead going into the final day.

Reid had played two excellent rounds before the third day, hitting two under and three under par on the first and second days respectively. She fired a relatively good third round but utterly collapsed on the par 4, 13th hole. On her third shot Reid hit past the hole and her ball kept rolling before dropping downhill toward the edge of the green. She then tapped her ball back up the hill but with not enough power because it rolled back down the incline.

At that point she seemed frustrated and putted too quickly again passing the hole. After six strokes, she finished the hole with an unnecessary double bogey caused by poor putting. The 13th essentially took her out of the game, score wise, and likely, mentally. Reid finished 9th overall, along with Julieta Granada of Paraguay and four other Koreans.

She was just behind Lee Anne Pace of South Africa who leads the money list on the Ladies’ European Tour.

Pace entered into the contest following two tournament victories in China and there was some buzz about her possibly making a hat-trick. On the third day Pace rallied to score a 66 with six birdies, four of which were consecutive. Her previous two rounds had not been stellar, and so she would have needed to score twice that many birdies to come from way back to win. Though a win might have been a pipe dream, she reminded the crowd why she is the leader on the Ladies’ European Tour Money List. Lee-Anne Pace finished tied for seventh place with Hur Yoon Kyung.

The Koreans defended their home turf well, dominating the scoreboard. The top 10 included 11 Koreans due to a six way tie for 9th. The top six golfers, Kim Hyun Ji, Yang Soo Jin, Seo Hee Kyung, Kim Ha Neul, Jung Hye Jin, and Julie Yang all represented Korea. Loud cheers were the staple for Korean competitors. The Koreans no doubt had some home advantage. For the most part they had had more time to play the course at Haevichi, and they did not have any issues with being in a foreign environment as some European ladies had when they competed in Korea.

While at Haevichi one US player, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke with The Jeju Weekly about her and many of the lady golfers’ problems with the Korean segment of the tour.

Some of the issues were related to how rude they had found Koreans to be. In particular spitting was not appreciated, but also many spectators would move and chat while foreigners were taking shots.

The pace of play was another issue, with 104 players competing on Friday and Saturday. There were apparently bottle-necks at the par three holes. Many rounds took in excess of six hour, though most other tournaments are able to manage similar amounts of competitors with each round taking only four and a half hours by allowing them to play in waves.

In a statement after the tournament, Tomato M President Kang Dae Pyo told The Jeju Weekly that disruptions in the gallery were due to locals from Pyoseon-myeon who were “inexperienced” with the etiquette of golf. Another Tomato M official responded that the six-hour rounds were realistic for a professional tour.

It’s rather unfortunate that Korea was represented in such a way to the foreign golfers who came here. The world came to Jeju, and many won’t be back any time soon.



Player Profiles

Melissa Reid
DOB: Sept. 19, 1987
Career Stroke Average: 71.53
Nationality: English
Recent Career Highlights:
2010 S4C Wales Championship, 2nd place
2010 UniCredit Ladies’ German Open 2nd place
2010 Turkish Airlines Ladies Open 1st place

Reid has been golfing since the age of 11 and is an up-and-com-ing young golfer. She received the Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year award in 2008. She is currently ranked third on the 2010 Henderson Money List with 235,000 euro.

Lee-Anne Pace
DOB: Feb. 15, 1981
Career Stroke Average: 73.21
Nationality: South African
Recent Career Highlights:
2010 Sanya Ladies Open 1st place
2010 Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open 1st place
2010 Deutsche Bank Swiss Open 1st place
2010 Finnair Masters 1st place
2010 S4C Wales Championship 1st place

Pace leads the 2010 Henderson Money List with 334,000 euro. She entered into the Daishin Securities Tomato M Korea European Ladies Masters fresh off two wins in China. She has seen her stroke average drop year after year since 2006 when she entered the Ladies’ European Tour.

Kim Hyun Ji
DOB: July 4, 1988
Career Stroke Average: 73.25
Nationality: Korean
Recent Career Highlights:
2010 Korean Ladies Masters 1st Place
2009 Korean Ladies Masters 1st Place

Kim’s first tournament win was last year’s tournament. She competes mostly in Korea, and has only placed in the top five in one other tournament aside from the two she has won. Aside from being a two time golf champion, she is also a taekwondo black belt.

Yang Soo Jin
DOB: Aug. 9, 1991
Career Stroke Average: 70.98
Nationality: Korean
Recent Career Highlights:
2010 Korean Ladies Masters 2nd Place
2010 2nd Hi-Mart Ladies Open J-golf Series 1st place
2010 Taeyeongbae 24th Korean Ladies Open Golf Tournement 1st place

At only 19, Yang is one of the younger competitors in the KLPGA. She has made 533 million won so far. She could well be one of the best female golfers in the world if her game continues to improve.



¨Ï Jeju Weekly 2009 (http://www.jejuweekly.com)
All materials on this site are protected under the Korean Copyright Law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published without the prior consent of Jeju Weekly.
ÆùƮŰ¿ì±â ÆùÆ®ÁÙÀ̱â ÇÁ¸°Æ®Çϱ⠸ÞÀϺ¸³»±â ½Å°íÇϱâ
Æ®À§ÅÍ ÆäÀ̽ººÏ ¹ÌÅõµ¥ÀÌ ¿äÁò ³×À̹ö ±¸±Û msn µÚ·Î°¡±â À§·Î°¡±â
About the paper¤ýContact Us¤ýAdvertising¤ýFAQ¤ýPrivacy Policy¤ýE-mail address privacy¤ýSitemap
Mail to editor@jejuweekly.com  |  Phone: +82-64-724-7776 Fax: +82-64-724-7796
#505 jeju Venture Maru Bldg,217 Jungangro(Ido-2 dong), Jeju-si, Korea, 690-827

Registration Number: Jeju Da 01093  |  Date of Registration: November 20, 2008  |  Publisher: Song Jung Hee
Copyright ¨Ï 2009 All materials on this site are protected under the Korean Copyright Law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published without the prior consent of jeju weekly.com.