If the KLPGA tour for the past two years was ‘Park Min-ji’s world’, this season it is progressing with a two-strong structure with Park Ji-young (27, Korea Land Trust) and Lee Ye-won (20, KB Financial Group), who are second to none in terms of consistency. am.
The two players, who are seven years apart, are showing surprisingly similar progress, starting with the title of Rookie of the Year.
First, Park Ji-young participated in 20 competitions this season and entered the top 10 9 times, including 3 wins and 2 runners-up, and accumulated target points in half of the competitions she participated in.
In her second year as a professional, Lee Ye-won’s performance shines even more. Lee Ye-won is only one short of Park Ji-young in the number of wins, but she has been in the top 10 nine times, and most importantly, she has appeared in the final round of every competition without missing a single cut.
Even in terms of records, the two players are very similar. Park Ji-young ranks first overall in the average number of strokes, showing off her ability to be the best in the short game, including significantly increased driver distance (23rd) this season, as well as green hit rate (10th) and average putting (6th).
Yewon Lee is also stable. He is ranked 2nd in average strokes after Park Ji-young, and is being reborn as a perfect player in driving distance (38th), fairway landing rate (10th), green hit rate (4th), and average putting (25th), so he is a player with more expectations for the future. is developing.
It is also worth noting that she has made significant strides this season.
Park Ji-young won four championships before this season, but is suffering from a thirst for not achieving multiple wins. And she is finally reaching her peak in the 9th year since her debut, having won a whopping 3 trophies this season and even won her first major championship.
Yewon Lee, who debuted last year, was just one short of winning the title, placing second and third three times each. Although she won the Rookie of the Year award for the only time in her life, she went into this season without the disappointment of being unranked, and with her two wins, she now stands tall among the strongest players representing the tour and has become a player who attracts attention in every competition.스포츠토토
Park Ji-young and Lee Ye-won will also challenge for the Triple Crown for the first time in four years. In the history of the KLPGA Tour, there have been a total of 10 Triple Crown winners.
Starting with Kang Soo-yeon in 2001, Shin Ji-ae set a record for three consecutive years starting in 2006, and Seo Hee-kyung in 2009, Lee Bo-mi in 2010, Kim Hyo-joo in 2014, Jeon In-ji in 2015, Lee Jeong-eun6 in 2017, and Choi Hye-jin in 2019 made history.
Currently, Lee Ye-won is in first place in the prize money and grand prize points categories with KRW 989.38 million and 448 points, respectively, but Park Ji-young is following closely behind, winning the KB Financial Star Championship last week and accumulating KRW 923.13 million in prize money and 440 grand prize points. . In addition, he is ranked 1st and 2nd in average at-bats, so it is expected that the outline of a Triple Crown winner will be revealed only towards the end of the season.
Meanwhile, while Park Ji-young is taking a break at the OK Financial Group Shotman Open held this week, Lee Ye-won sets foot on Yeongjong Island in Incheon. If Lee Ye-won enters the top 11, he could become the first player in the season to exceed 1 billion won in prize money.