Needing a win, Bang Shin-sil is off to a flying start on the first day of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour E1 Charity Open메이저사이트 ($900,000), sharing the lead.
Bang made five birdies and one bogey in the first round of the tournament at the par-72 Seongmunan Country Club in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on 26 June.
Her four-under-par 68 tied her for the lead with Kim Min-seon 7 and Ji Han-sol.
Bang, who is playing the season as a ‘conditional seed,’ has two top-10 finishes in four KLPGA Tour events.
However, the non-winning results mean little to Bang, who did not earn a full seeding after finishing 40th at the KLPGA Tour’s seeding event in November last year.
As a low seed, she is expected to play around 30 per cent of the tournaments this season, meaning she will not be able to fulfil the required number of events to secure a regular tour spot on the money list.
The only answer is to win. If she can hold onto the top spot until the final day of the tournament, she will immediately qualify for the KLPGA Tour full-seeded status and secure her place on the tour until 2025.
‘Veteran’ Kim Hae-rim and Yoo So-yeon, who is making her Korean debut after playing on the US Ladies Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, are tied for fourth (3-under par 69) with Lee Se-hee and Park Ji-young.
Last year’s winner Jung Yun-ji is tied for 48th on one-over par 73, while Park Min-ji, who is chasing her third consecutive money title, is in danger of missing the cut on three-over par 75 and tied for 90th.