We're the same age, but the path of "Shinsung" between Korea and Japan to enter the U.S. even if it's different
We're the same age, but the path of "Shinsung" between Korea and Japan to enter the U.S. even if it's different
Blog Article
"Even if it's a moon, it's so different."
The promising Korean and Japanese women's golf golfers of the same age, born in 2003, are in stark contrast to their moves to advance to the U.S., giving them bitterness.
This is the story of Takeda Rio (Japan, 21), who plays in the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour, and Hwang Yu-min (Lotte, 21), who plays in the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour.
Takeda Rio, who has been active in Japan this season, has secured a berth to the LPGA Tour relatively easily. Having grabbed seven wins this season through last month, she beat Marina Alex of the U.S., who is active in the LPGA, to win the sixth playoff at the Toto Japan Classic last week, and secured her dream of qualifying for the LPGA Tour. "I was going to participate in the LPGA Q Series in December, but I'm happy to skip that step," she said in her victory speech.
There is one more thing to pay attention to. As the JLPGA Tour co-hosted by the LPGA Tour and the JLPGA Tour, Rio won the JLPGA Tour for the eighth time in the JLPGA Tour season, going beyond Lee Bo-mi and Suzuki Ai, who won seven wins in 2015 and 2019, to become the most wins in a single year in the JLPGA Tour over the past 10 years.
In addition, 35 JLPGA Tour players participated in the championship, which was smaller than 43 LPGA Tour players, but a Japanese player who took advantage of the home ground won the championship for the second year in a row, instilling confidence in JLPGA Tour players. As such, Takeda Rio is entering the LPGA tour with good memories, and feels relieved.
In contrast, Hwang Yu-min, who is active in the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA), has difficulty getting a chance to participate in the LPGA Tour. The KLPGA Tour, like the JLPGA Tour, held a co-hosted competition with the LPGA Tour, but is taking its own course by holding the KLPGA Tour during the same period, even though the LPGA Tour is taking place in Korea starting from 2022. The move is aimed at ensuring opportunities for players who cannot afford to participate in the LPGA tour. As a result, the stage where KLPGA tour players can compete with LPGA tour players has disappeared.
Hwang Yoo-min will participate in the LPGA Tour Lotte Championship in Hawaii this week along with Lee So-young (27) of Lotte and Lee Ga-young (25) who won the Lotte Open in July at the invitation of the main sponsor. The sponsor of the event, not the association, is serving as a bridgehead for the KLPGA Tour and the LPGA Tour.
Hwang Yoo-min will not apply for the LPGA Tour Q Series this year, but as her dream is to enter the U.S., she is determined to prepare for this tournament by skipping the SK Telecom and SK Shields Championship, the final match of the KLPGA Tour season, as well as the S-OIL Championship held last week.
Even if Hwang wins the championship and qualifies for the LPGA tour, he has already paid a huge amount of money. He gave up the opportunity to become the KLPGA tour's top prize winner. Hwang, who won the Doosan E&C We've Championship, the opener of this season in Korea, is ranked fourth in the prize money list, surpassing 1 billion won (approx. Although Hwang has a gap of 148.9 million won (approx. If he wins the season's prize money of 1,199,944,286 won, he will be able to regain the top prize money title if he wins the final match of the season of the KLPGA tour.
Other players who will compete for the top prize money include Park Hyun-kyung (aged 24, Korea Land Trust) and Park Ji-young (aged 28, Korea Land Trust), who ranked third in prize money, but it is regrettable that Hwang Yoo-min, who has been in the top five for two times including the runner-up in the four recent competitions, is not in good condition. Above all, the player lost the opportunity to compete for the title title and the tour dampened the success of the final game of the season. 안전놀이터
Hwang Yu-min, who may compete with Takeda Rio on the U.S. stage from next year or the year after, as he is looking forward to entering the U.S., can't erase the bitterness because it looks so different from the beginning.