Park Minji and Sung Yujin seized the early initiative at the Hana Financial Group Championship on Thursday, carding matching three-under-par 69s to share the first-round lead at The Heaven Country Club.
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The Korean duo produced contrasting highlights on a demanding opening day. Park, a 20-time winner on the KLPGA Tour, produced a spectacular eagle on the 16th hole, while Sung found the bottom of the cup from the tee for a hole-in-one on the par-three eighth as both players negotiated the challenging layout to move to the top of the leaderboard.
Their performances put the spotlight firmly on the home stars and temporarily turned attention away from a star-studded international field featuring world No. 12 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and world No. 15 Minjee Lee of Australia, along with Japan’s Aki and Chisato Iwai and former world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan.
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Olympic champion and LPGA Hall of Famer Ko endured a difficult opening round, carding an 80, while Lee returned a 75 to sit six shots off the pace in tied-39th place. Defending champion Lee Dayeon opened her title defence with a 73 to lie in tied-22nd.
For Park, the opening 69 carries added significance. The 28-year-old entered the championship having already reached the 20-win mark on the KLPGA Tour, becoming only the third player in tour history to achieve the feat.
A victory this week would give Park an opportunity to further enhance her place in KLPGA history, while adding another chapter to a championship that has attracted an international field of established LPGA and Japanese stars.
“Overall, I was satisfied with my shots today. I’m glad I could finish with a good score,” said Park.
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“On the 16th hole, I thought it would be great to make an eagle and took the shot – and it really went in. The course is so challenging that I tried to go straight at the pin whenever possible from the fairway.”
Sung, meanwhile, matched Park’s 69 after overcoming a difficult start before producing the day’s other major highlight with her hole-in-one.
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“At the beginning, the game was very difficult, and I had a negative thought that today would be a really hard day,” said Sung. “But thanks to my caddie’s good guidance, I was able to regain my composure, and I think I was able to finish with a good result by concentrating until the end.”
Reflecting on her ace, Sung said: “I grabbed a 9-iron and hit a controlled shot, and the ball went straight into the hole. I also saw the ball go in.”
The pair’s matching scores left them one shot clear of the chasing pack after a first round in which the testing course conditions kept scoring tightly bunched.
