Sung Yu-jin and Park Min-ji jointly lead the first round of the KLPGA Hana Financial Group Championship

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Tae-yong = Seong Yu-jin's hole-in-one and Park Min-ji's shot eagle led to a joint lead on the first day of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won).

In the first round of the tournament held at The Heaven Country Club West/South Course (par 72) in Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 17th, Seong Yu-jin hit 3 under par 69 with a hole-in-one, 5 birdies, and 4 bogeys.

Seong Yu-jin, who withdrew from last week's major tournament, the KB Financial Golden Life Championship, due to a wrist injury, announced that she had recovered from the injury and laid the foundation for her fifth win on the KLPGA Tour.

Seong Yu-jin, who started from the 10th hole, finished the first half with 3 consecutive bogeys from holes 12 to 14, losing one stroke.

However, in the second half, the game was completely different.

He made consecutive birdies from holes 1 to 3, and recorded a hole-in-one on hole 8 (par 3, 142 yards) to take the sole lead.

Seong Yu-jin said, “I made a control shot with a 9-iron, and the ball went down the slope and went straight into the hole.”

Seong Yu-jin made a hole-in-one in a hole where a car worth 98 million won was on the line, but she was unable to take the car because Park Bo-gyeom had already made a hole-in-one in this hole.

On the last hole, the 9th hole (par 4), she missed the tee shot into deep rough and lost one stroke, finishing the first day tied for the lead with Minji Park.

Seong Yu-jin said, “My wrist hurts a little, but I don’t feel conscious about it while playing, so I can play well.”

Minji Park, who has 20 wins in her career on the KLPGA tour, was one stroke down until the 15th hole and then hit a thrilling shot at the 16th hole (par 4).

His second shot, which he hit with 142 yards left from the fairway to the hole, went straight into the hole and captured an eagle.

Park Min-ji laughed, saying, "I hit it with a 7-iron, but it hit a little thinly. After I hit it, I walked with my caddy and said, 'I want to make an eagle,' and that's exactly what happened."

Park Bo-gyeom, winner of last week's KB Financial Golden Life Championship, was also tied for third place, one stroke behind the joint leader, aiming to win for the second week in a row.

Park Bo-gyeom, who recorded a bogey in the 3rd hole (par 4), made consecutive birdies in the 6th hole (par 5) and 7th hole (par 4), and then made a hole-in-one in the 8th hole (par 3) to take the sole lead.

However, Park Bo-gyeom, who was unable to continue his upward trend in the second half, lost one stroke in the 16th hole (par 4) and was pushed back to 2 under par 70 strokes and a tie for 3rd place.

Tied for third place were Hwang Yu-min, Yoo Hyeon-jo, and Lee Joo-mi, who play on the LPGA tour.

The Heaven Country Club, where the KLPGA Tour Inca Finance The Heaven Masters (54-hole match) was held last June, was transformed into a completely different golf course as it was re-established with deep rough, narrow fairways, and fast green speeds.

In the first round, the length of the short rough was 36 mm, the length of the deep rough was 85 mm, the fairway width was set at an average of 12 m, and the green speed was set at 3.9 m, troubling the players.

Seo Kyo-rim (4th win of the season), who won the tournament last June with 16 under par and 200 strokes, shot 3 over par 75 and finished the first day in a tie for 39th place with Lee Min-ji (Australia).

Kim Min-sol (3 wins of the season), who is competing with Seo Kyo-rim for multiple wins, shot a 5-over 77 and fell to a tie for 74th place.

Former world number one Zeng Yani (Taiwan) also struggled, hitting 4 over par 76 and Lydia Ko (New Zealand) hitting 8 over par 80.

After the end of the first round, only 15 players recorded scores under par.