Kim Hyo-joo, the representative of “Serie Kids,” calls Pak the “boss.” She calls Pak friendly and respectful. It would have been a natural step for Kim to participate in the Fur Hills Pak Se-ri Championship of the KLPGA tour hosted by Pak.
But did he really want to do better? On the first day of the championship, he played three over par. He tied for 103rd. He was on the verge of making a cut at the “Boss’s Championship.”
At the second round of the tournament that continued at Palos Budis Golf Club (par 71) in Palos Budis Estates, California on Sunday, Kim’s first hole score was a bogey. The number of pars soared to four over par.
Only two players did not make the cut at last year’s LPGA tour. They were Lee Min-ji and Kim Hyo-joo, two ethnic Australians. Will Kim, who has not had the cut since the BMW Ladies Championship held in October 2022, be able to overcome the crisis.
It was a rollercoaster-like day with a lot of bogeys and birdies.
Kim Hyo-joo, who started with a bogey (par 4) at the 1st hole, began to make up for the number of strokes by making consecutive birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes (par 4). The replay came out at the 4th hole (par 4), but she finally got out of the “over-par” bridle by making three consecutive birdies at the 5th (par 4), 6th (par 3), and 7th (par 5).
However, the crisis has struck again. She made consecutive bogeys at Nos. 11 (par 3) and 12 (par 4) to fall short of the cut-off baseline again. Kim reversed the mood with a birdie at Hole 14, the first par-5 hole in the second half, and recovered with even par by dropping a birdie at Hole 16 as well. At Hole 17 (par 3), she dropped a 6-meter downhill birdie putt to pass the cut and enter the safe zone. It was regrettable that she made bogey at the last hole, but Kim, who reduced her pars by three on the day, jumped 59 notches from tying for 103rd in the first round to tying for 44th (even par 142) in the second round.
Of the 20 Korean players who participated in the tournament, 10 players, or half, succeeded in passing the cut, and 10 players, or half, were cut off.
Jeon In-ji, the only Korean player to make the top 10 on the previous day, continued her propaganda by reducing one stroke to tie for ninth with Jeon. Jeon shot 3-under 68. The eldest sister Shin Ji-ae also reduced three strokes to tie for 33rd.
Kim Hyo-joo passed the drama-like cut, but unfortunately, there are many Korean players who have been cut off.
Choi Hye-jin, who was ranked only 20th in the four competitions she participated in this year, lost three pars on the day and tied for 85th, failing to make the cut for the first time this season. It is regrettable that Kang Min-ji, who reduced her pars by six on the day alone, failed to make the cut. She had a two-over par total of 144 (tied for 70th), one stroke short of the cut line.
Malia Nam (USA) took the lead with a total of 8-under 134, In Luoning (China) and Madeleine Sxtrom (Sweden) tied for second with a total of 7-under 135, and Alison Lee, a Korean-American, tied for fourth with Rose Zhang (USA) and Rhiona Maguire (Ireland).
Source: 토토사이트