Park Sung-hyun tied for second by one shot

Park Sung-hyun seems to have pleased to find a new hope rather than disappointment for losing the championship. It was when she tied for second by one shot on Monday at the LPGA Volvik Championship at Travis Pointe Country Club (Par 72) in Michigan.

Park had her best results ever since her LPGA debut this year. “Frankly, I felt heavy with worries as previous games didn’t go well," Park said. "The biggest achievement of this game was that I regained a lot of confidence.”

In last week’s Kingsmill Championship, she finished the game with a score of 75 on the last day and took the joint 43rd place. It was the first time her ranking was below 25th.

Park is currently second on the LPGA tour in average driving distance (274.8 yards). “I have learned a lot in terms of approach and putt as adjusting the position of my head at address," she said. In the final round, she played 27 putts with 66, reducing by four from the previous day. Feng Shanshan of China took the victory.

Although Park has no victory in this season, she is the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year Award, leading the points race with 491 while Angel Yin of the U.S. is a second with 245 points. It is highly likely that Korean golfers will win the Rookie of the Year Award in three years in a row, following Kim Sei-young and Chun In-gee.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com