Hanwha Classic disappeared 女 Golf '4 Major' system...Expectations for the birth of "first grand slammer" are the opposite
Hanwha Classic disappeared 女 Golf '4 Major' system...Expectations for the birth of "first grand slammer" are the opposite
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Shin Ji-ae, who plays in the JLPGA tour, has two important goals this year. She has two more wins to acquire a permanent seed to be given to players with 30 or more wins. Although Shin already has 30 wins in the JLPGA tour, her goal is all the more regrettable because two of them were wins when she was a non-member, and she will be excluded from the permanent seed condition. And she desperately hopes that one of her two wins will be to win the Japan Women's Open in October. This is because it is the last puzzle left to achieve the first career Grand Slam in the history of the JLPGA tour.
The Grand Slam, which dominates the four major championships, is a record that has not been made not only in the JLPGA Tour but also in the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour.
In particular, this year's KLPGA Tour major tournament has been reduced from five to four due to the absence of the Hanwha Classic, increasing interest in the main character of the first Grand Slam.
Starting with two major championships, the KLPGA Tour started with a system of two major championships, followed by three major championships, four major championships and five major championships, and will be held again with a system of four major championships this year. Not only has the system undergone significant changes, but top rankers who have proven their skills to some extent in Korea have shifted to the U.S. or Japan, and it would have been difficult for them to win all four major championships in Korea. However, as more and more players are focusing on domestic championships recently, expectations are growing for the emergence of a first grand slammer.
So far, six active golfers have won three major tournaments and have only the last four puzzles left until the career Grand Slam, including Shin Ji-ae, Kim Hyo-joo, Jeon In-ji, Park Min-ji, Jang Ha-na, and Lee Da-yeon.
In 2008, Shin won the Korea Women's Open, the KLPGA Championship, the fourth round of KB Kookmin Bank's Star Tour, and the Hite Cup Women's Professional Golf Championship, which belong to the current four major competitions. However, Shin is not a "grand slammer." The Hite Cup was promoted to a major competition only in 2009. At that time, only three major competitions were held including the Korea Women's Open, the KLPGA Championship, and the fourth round of KB Kookmin Bank Star Tour. Although she won all major competitions in a year, she is not a true grand slammer who wins four different major competitions.
Having moved to the LPGA tour and the JLPGA tour sequentially since 2009, Shin did not continue her challenge to the Grand Slam itself in Korea. Of course, she didn't put much emphasis on the Grand Slam at the time.
Currently, Park Min-ji, the KLPGA record maker, is the player who is closest to completing the grand slam puzzle.
Park, who became her first major queen by winning the Korean Women's Open in 2021, topped three major tournaments by winning the KB Financial Star Championship and the Hite Career Championship in 2022. With the Hanwha Classic gone, Park's remaining grand slam puzzle is the KLPGA Championship.
Starting with Kia Motors' 33rd Korea Women's Open in 2019, Lee Da-yeon, who won the Hanwha Classic in 2021 and the KrisfNC 45th KLPGA Championship in 2023, can win four major competitions if she wins one more title, either the KB Financial Group Star Championship or the Hite Jinro Championship. However, she may become a little awkward grand slammer as she will not be able to win the title of one of the four major competitions at the moment.
Jang Ha-na, who returned this year from sick leave last year, also has three different major titles. Jang, who won major titles at the KB Financial Group Star Championship in 2012 and the Hite Jinro Championship in 2013, became the winner of three major championships by winning the KLPGA Championship in 2018. Jang said, "I need the Korean Women's Open Championship.
Shin Ji-ae, who is focusing on the JLPGA tour, and Kim Hyo-joo and Jeon In-ji, who are active in the U.S. LPGA, must first solve the task of adjusting schedules in order to become grand slammers. If they do not participate in the championship, they cannot have a chance.
Kim Hyo-joo and Jeon In-ji need to win the KLPGA Championship, and the last puzzle left for Shin Ji-ae is the Hite Jinro Championship.
Interestingly, all Hanwha Classic winners have won major championships for the past three years in a row.
Hong Ji-won, the 2022 Hanwha Classic winner, won the 2023 Korean Women's Open, and Kim Su-ji, the 2023 Hanwha Classic champion, won the Hite Jinro Championship last year. Park Ji-young, who also won the Hanwha Classic last year, is the 2023 KB Financial Star Championship champion. 토토사이트