Which female golfers will take 4 berths for Rio Olympics?

Which female golfers will take 4 berths for Rio Olympics?. July. 06, 2016 08:33. by 김종석기자 kjs0123@donga.com. Lee Bo-mi (28) has recently completed application for an AD card (athlete’s ID card) for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics through the Korea Golf Association. Although it is still uncertain whether Lee will take part in the Olympics as a national team member, she took the action because she had been requested to be prepared since she still has a chance.

Lee currently ranks 14th in global rankings. Up to four golfers ranking 15th or higher can take part in the Olympics to represent a country. Among the Korean female golfers, who are atop in the world, as many as six are ranking higher than Lee.

Will Lee be able to secure an AD card by beating rivals in fierce competition? The final qualification test that will determine her luck and the winners of the berths will take place soon. This will happen at the 71st U.S. Women’s Open Championship, the third major event of this season that will open at CordeVal‎le (par 72) in San Martin, south of San Francisco in the U.S. on Thursday. The golfers who will take part in the Summer Olympics will be selected according to their rankings to be announced after the event.

According to the current rankings, Park in-bee (28) who ranked third, Kim Se-young (23) who ranks fifth, Jeon In-ji (22) who ranks sixth, and Yang Hee-young (27) who ranks ninth are eligible to participate. Tenth-ranked Jang Ha-na, 11th-ranked Ryu So-youn, and 14th-ranked Lee Bo-mi, 18th-ranked Park Sung-hyun, and 19th-ranked Kim Hyo-joo are on the list of backup candidates.

Depending on the outcome of the upcoming competition, whose winner will receive 100 points, the participating Korean golfers in Brazil can be changed again because the gaps in score points in global rankings between the Korean players are narrow. Since Park In-bee and Jang Ha-na may not be able to participate in the Olympics due to injury, players must elevate their performance to the extent possible and wait for the outcomes of other players. Park will skip the U.S. Women’s Open due to her finger injury, while Jan Ha-na will return to Korea for treatment of anemia and insomnia after taking part in the U.S. Women’s Open. A source in the Korea Golf Association said, “I understand Park In-bee remains committed to participate in the Olympics and is preparing for the event. Final decision will likely be made no later than next week.”

Lee Bo-mi who went to the U.S. on July 1 after taking rest in Korea, said, “I will not give up even if I only have a 1-percent chance to take part in the Olympics. My father who passed away would tell me to go to Brazil with him when he was alive.” Analysts say that the sense of precision shots maintained by Lee, who stayed within the top five players in 11 consecutive tournaments of the Japanese golf tour, will be in great harmony with the course of the upcoming U.S. championship, where the green is tough to deal with amid mountainous terrains.

Jeon In-ji, who emerged as Cinderella by winning the U.S. Women’s Open last year, aims to kill two birds with one stone: to garner two consecutive wins in the event and her participation in the Olympics. Ryu, the winner of the 2008 U.S. Open, won two gold medals in the single and group competitions at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha when she was an amateur.

A golf coach said, “Ryu would display her strength in national competitions that are held as short-term events. She wishes to seize the opportunity of Olympics more than anyone else.” Yang Hee-young, whose father was a member of the national canoe team and mother who was a member of the national javelin team, is determined to achieve the dream of participating in the Olympics, which her parents fail to achieve.”