South Korea’s Ji-hee Kim has taken the first step toward a second straight victory at the Bank of Hope Match Play ($1.5 million purse) on the Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour.
Ji-hee Kim defeated Matilda Kastren 2&3 (three-hole lead with two holes to play) on the first day of group play at Shadow Creek Golf Club (par-72) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on Friday. A win here would give Jee-hee, who won this event last year to improve to six wins on the LPGA Tour, the record for the oldest South Korean player to win an LPGA Tour event (36 years, 17 days), which she set last year. She will face Maddie Jurick in the second round.
The match-play format will see a total of 64 players compete in 16 groups of four, with the winner of each group advancing to the round of 16. The round of 16 will be followed by single-elimination matches until the final.
In her post-match interview, Ji Hee said, “I was lucky because my shot feeling wasn’t that good today. I think my opponent wasn’t feeling great today either, so I was able to make it a little easier,” she said.
“Even if I didn’t feel good with my shots, I tried to protect them as much as possible, and even when my opponent was following me, I hit them confidently,” she said, adding, “There were many difficult pin positions, and I tried to take advantage of that.”먹튀검증
Shin claimed a three-hole victory over Annalynn in her first round match, while Lee Jung-eun drew with Sofia Schubert. Se-Young Kim lost to Zhen Beiyun by three strokes, while Hae-Ran Hae, who leads the rookie standings, fell two strokes short to Lindsey Weaver Wright. World No. 1-3 Jin Young Ko, Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko did not compete in the tournament.