Two of the most feared offensive threats in women’s golf this season, rookie long hitters Bang Shin-sil and Hwang Yoo-min, are atop the leaderboard on day one of the tournament to determine the “Dakgong Queen.
Bang, who ranks first in driving distance (264 yards) and second in birdie average (3.51 per round), carded five birdies and no bogeys for a +10 in the first round of the Dongbu Construction Korea Land Trust Championship ($1 billion in prize money) at Iksan CC (par 72-6724 yards) in Iksan, Jeollabuk-do on Wednesday, and is tied for fourth place, two points behind leader Kwon Seo-yeon (+12). The third-annual event is the only one on the KLPGA Tour that uses a modified Stableford system (albatross +8, eagle +5, birdie +2, par 0, bogey -1, double bogey or worse -3) to determine the most aggressive player.
Bang had a strong back nine. After birdies on Nos. 2, 5 and 12, Bangsinsil hit his driver 287 yards on the 17th (par-5) and then put his second shot on the green with 200 yards left for an easy birdie. A 6-meter eagle putt that would have given him the lead was just short, and he followed that up with a birdie on the 18th (par-4) by placing his second shot 1.2 meters from the pin.
Bang burst onto the scene this year, hitting long drives well over 300 yards to win the E1 Charity Women’s Open (May), and this is her second win of the season in three months. Ranked first in birdie average (3.68 per round) and third in driving distance (257 yards), Hwang made six birdies but added three bogeys to start the day at +9 and tied for sixth. She was within striking distance of the lead at +10 by the 15th hole, but faltered on the final two holes. He was unable to add a birdie on the two-on-17th hole, a rare occurrence among the top players, as he dropped his second shot in the rough after hitting his tee shot 291 yards, and he bogeyed the 18th after a bad tee shot.안전놀이터
“I think this tournament suits me because I play aggressively,” said Bang, who is one birdie off the lead. “It was hard to make eagle on the par-5s today because of the headwind, but I’ll try to be as aggressive as I can in the next three rounds to make eagles and birdies.”
Hwang Yoo-min, who is in position to overtake the leader with two more birdies, said, “If I’m too aggressive, I’ll make mistakes, so I played my normal game today,” adding, “Except for the sixth hole, the rest of the par-5s are two-on, so I’ll try to attack them boldly.”
Second-year national team member Kwon Seo-yeon carded six birdies without a bogey to give her a chance to win her first career title. Lee, who has two wins on the season, and Lee So-young, who is looking for her first win in an odd-numbered year, are tied for second at +11, while “Dae-se” Park, who has six wins in the last two years, is tied for sixth at +9.