LPGA Showdown: Will Korean Golfers Outperform Japanese Rivals at the Chevron Championship?
Daniel Kim Views
The Chevron Championship, the LPGA Tour’s first major of the season, has drawn attention as world No. 2 Nelly Korda (U.S.) opened a six-stroke lead while Yoon Ina pushed into a tie for third. The biggest shock, though, was world No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) missing the cut. The reigning world No. 1 — who has yet to win a major — added another unwanted blemish: she also missed a single cut last year, and that came at a major, the U.S. Women’s Open. World No. 8 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and No. 9 Sei-young Kim also failed to advance. Top names such as Jin-young Ko, In-ji Jeon, Lilia Vu (U.S.) and Mimi Rose (England) fell short of the weekend.
Ten Korean players made the cut: Yoon Ina; national team member Yang Yun-seo (tied 11th); Hwang Yu-min, Lim Jin-hee and Lee So-mi (all tied 16th); Yoo Hae-ran (tied 22nd); Choi Hye-jin and Kim Hyo-joo (both tied 36th); Shin Ji-eun (tied 49th); and Yang Hee-young (tied 62nd). Japan had one more player advance, with 11 making the cut.
With similar numbers advancing, several pairings took on a Korea-vs.-Japan flavor. The tournament shifts from three-player groups in rounds 1–2 to two-player pairings starting in round 3, and five of the Korean players who made the cut were matched with Japanese opponents.
The most compelling matchup pits rookie-of-the-year leader Hwang Yu-min against last year’s runner-up rookie Takeda Rio (Japan). After the first two rounds, Hwang posted 72 and 69 while Takeda shot 73 and 68, leaving both at 3-under and tied for 16th.
Other Korea-Japan pairings set for the 25th (local time) at Memorial Park Golf Course (par 72) in Houston include Yang Yun-seo vs. Kamiya Sora, Lee So-mi vs. Hara Erika, Yoo Hae-ran vs. Katsu Minami, and Yang Hee-young vs. Furue Ayaka.
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