Lee Jeong-eun (27) became the only winner among former winners to record under par on the first day of the US Women’s Open (total prize money of 11 million dollars토토사이트), laying the foundation for a recapture of the championship for the first time in three years.
In the first round of the tournament held at Pebble Beach Golf Links (par 72) in Monterey, California on the 7th (Korean time), Lee Jung-eun scored a 2-under-par 70 with 4 birdies and 2 bogies to tie for 9th place. She is two strokes behind Kim Hyo-joo (28) and Lin Xiu (China), who tied for the lead with a 4-under-par 68 stroke.
Lee Jeong-eun, who moved to the United States after passing through the LPGA Tour Qualifying Series in 2018, won her first major championship at the 2019 US Women’s Open with her first victory in her debut.
Thanks to his US Women’s Open win, he made a soft landing by climbing to third place in the money list in his first year of debut, but his grades have been riding a roller coaster since his second year. He dropped to 57th in the money rankings in 2020, before moving up to 13th in 2021. However, it was ranked 42nd last year.
This year, starting with the Honda Thailand tournament held in Thailand in February, he participated in 11 tournaments before this tournament, missed the cut 5 times, and never made it to the top 10.
Despite his sluggish performance, he showed steady results at the US Women’s Open. After winning in 2019, he tied for 6th in 2020, tied for 12th in 2021, and tied for 28th last year.
Lee Jung-eun, who has not yet been in the top 10 this year, placed tied for 9th on the first day, raising expectations for a recapture of the championship for the first time in three years with the first top 10 of the season.
A total of 12 past winners participated in this competition, but Lee Jeong-eun was the only player who made it to the top 10 on the first day.
After the game, Lee Jung-eun said, “I am satisfied with the result today.” “I caught a lot of birdies, but there were many misses on the green. Tomorrow, I will focus on protecting the green, and I will focus more on the game for the remaining three days.”
At Pebble Beach Golf Links, where the tournament was held, it is not easy to reduce many points because the wind changes greatly and the course is difficult. Only 20 players played under par on the first day. The total number of participants is 156.
Lee Jung-eun said, “It is important to increase the on-green success rate because the green is small.
While Lee Jung-eun was the only winner among all-time winners to record under par on the first day, last year’s winners Lee Min-ji, Jeon In-ji (2015), and Yuka Saso (2021) recorded an even par 72 and tied for 21st.
Annika Sorenstam (Sweden), who won the US Women’s Open three times and participated as a special guest this year, recorded an 8-over-par 80 that day, recording her lowest performance among all previous winners.