Bae So-hyun, 4 wins in the season + 2 consecutive wins KB Financial Star Championship

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Bae So-hyun's storm is strong in the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour.

Bae So-hyun shot a 5-under 67 in the first round of the KLPGA Tour KB Financial Star Championship (total prize money of 1.2 billion won) held at the Blackstone Icheon Golf Club (par 72) in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 5th.

So-Hyun Bae, who beat Hyo-Joo Kim and rookie Hyun-Jo Yoo, who play on the LPGA Tour, by one stroke, has laid the foundation for winning her first major tournament.

Bae So-hyun, who emerged like a comet this year and won her first championship and reached the 3rd win of the season, is also one step ahead in the competition for the 4th win of the season.

 In particular, Bae So-hyun is now looking forward to winning for the second consecutive week, following her win at the KG Ladies Open on the 1st.

On this day, Bae So-hyun, who went up against Park Ji-young and Park Hyun-kyung, who each won three games of the season, stood out with her clean play, picking up five birdies without a bogey.

I only missed the fairway three times and the green once.

Although the course conditions were not good, the preferred lie rule was applied, which allows the player to pick up the ball on the fairway and then put it back down in a good spot before hitting, but the performance was almost perfect at Blackstone Icheon Golf Club, which is notorious for being a difficult course.

Bae So-hyun said, "I hit my iron shot well. I hit it at the distance the green flies away from. If your shot is not accurate, it is a course where playing on the green is very difficult, but I almost never missed the fairway, so I was satisfied with my putting."

"Actually, I focused on practicing my shots on Monday because my shots weren't good on the final day of the KG Ladies Open and I had to endure with my short game and putter. I also worked on my shots this morning," Bae So-hyun confessed. "I was worried about my stamina, but I'm happy that I finished in the lead even though the game was temporarily suspended due to heavy rain."

Bae So-hyun said, "I'm not conscious of the competition for 4 wins. There's no guarantee that a player with 3 wins will win this tournament. I've won 3 times, but that's already in the past, and I think it's right to focus on the current game," adding, "However, I want to win a major tournament more than my 4th win of the season."

Kim Hyo-joo, who won the tournament held on the same course in 2020 by 8 strokes and has good memories of finishing 6th in 2021, is knocking on the door of her third win by catching 4 birdies without a bogey at Blackstone Icheon Golf Club, which she visited again after 3 years.

Hyo-Joo Kim, who has 14 wins on the KLPGA Tour, also won the KB Financial Star Championship in 2014, but the tournament course was not Blackstone Icheon Golf Club.

Kim Hyo-joo did not have any jet lag issues as she returned to Korea after competing in three consecutive tournaments in Europe last month, 

 including the Paris Olympics, Scottish Women's Open, and AIG Women's Open, and stayed in Korea to rest and train.

Kim Hyo-joo said, "I was better at putting than shooting," and added, "I hope to improve little by little until the last day."

Hyunjo Yoo, who is in first place in the Rookie of the Year points rankings, had two bogeys but also made six birdies, putting her in a good position to compete for the championship.

Park Hyun-kyung, ranked first in target points and second in prize money, tied for third with five birdies and two bogeys for a three-under 69. 

Park Hyun-kyung, who finished tied for fourth place, two strokes behind, also lit the flame of her fourth win of the season.

Park Ji-young, the defending champion and No. 1 in prize money rankings, fell behind by half a stroke on the first day with a 2-under 70.

 Park Ji-young, who was tied for 8th place, had four birdies, but regrettably recorded a double bogey after making a mistake with her tee shot on the 12th hole (par 4).

Lee Ye-won, who is competing for her fourth win of the season, also shot a 2-under 70.

Yoon Ina also submitted a 2-under 70, the same score as Park Ji-young and Lee Ye-won.

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