South Korea’s ‘eldest sister’ Ji-hee Lee, 37, will attempt to win her second consecutive Match Play title.
South Korea’s Ji-hee Kim is the defending champion of the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour’s Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play ($1.5 million purse) at Shadow Creek (par-72) in Las Vegas, Nevada, beginning today (Aug. 25).
Last year, Ji-hee defeated rookie Ayaka Furue (JPN) in the final to win her sixth career LPGA Tour title. She also became the oldest Korean player to win on the LPGA Tour at 36 years and 17 days.
In her official interview, Ji said, “I have only good memories of this tournament. I’m a little nervous coming here this week, but I’m also excited. I have very vivid memories of winning last year. I hope my luck continues this week and that I play well 메이저놀이터.”
“Obviously, it was great to win last year, but at the same time, it was so hard. I need to be fit to play all the matchplays,” she said. “Last year’s win also earned me a spot in the US Women’s Open. I was very tired and exhausted, but I had to put the victory and excitement aside and play. It was a tiring two weeks, but rewarding.”
Unlike stroke play, match play requires a lot of matches. Sixty-four players play in groups of four, with only the first place finisher advancing to the round of 16. The winner is then determined in a tournament format.
“In match play, you can play with more confidence,” says Ji-hee. Even if you make a mistake, you can make up for it, and I think being aggressive leads to good results.” “I think the appeal of match play is that you have to be fearless to get good results,” she said.
On the golf course, he said, “It’s in great shape. You have to think about the set-up for each hole. You have to know how to approach the shot, a certain way. That’s the fun part of the game.”
In addition to Jihee, Kim Se-young, Kim Arim, Shin Ji-eun, An Na-lin, Hae-ran Hae, Lee Jeong-eun, and Hong Ye-eun will be competing. Hong qualified as an invitee. Lee Jeong-eun and Hong Ye-eun are in the second group, Anna Rin and Shin Ji-eun are in the seventh group, Ji-hee Ji is in the eighth group, Kim Se-young is in the 13th group, and Hae-ran Hae and Kim Arim are in the 15th group.