Golfer Jeon In-ji challenges for two LPGA titles

Golfer Jeon In-ji challenges for two LPGA titles. November. 17, 2016 07:19. by Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com. Jeon In-ji currently ranks second in this season's LPGA Tour in terms of average hits recording 69.632 hits. She trails No. 1 ranking Lydia Ko (69.611 hits) by just 0.021 hits. This means that who wins the Bear Trophy will be decided Thursday at the CME Group Tour Championships, the final competition of the LPGA Tour season that will open at the Tiburon golf club in Naples, Florida. If Jeon posts 3 hits less than Ko, she will be grabbing two titles as she already grabbed a rookie award.

While attention is high on Jeon, she remains calm. A gifted student of math during elementary school days, Jeon said, "I will forget about figures this week. I will not think about number of hits. I already feel happy that I'm in this kind of competition."

After having conquered the domestic stage last year, Jeon has jumped into LPGA Tour this year, which is an unforgettable year for her. She has maintained stable pace as she failed the preliminaries just one time among 18 competitions. She has been listed in top 10 for 10 times, and was the world's No. 3, the highest among Korean players, while ranking fourth in award money (1.45 million dollars). At the Evian Championships, she hit 21 under par, making a fresh record in all major competitions. She also joined the Brazil Olympics this year after fierce competition. "She has adjusted quickly in an unfamiliar environment. I want to give her extra credit." said the head of Park Won Academy who has guided Jeon.

She also had ups and downs. Early in the season, she had to rest for nearly a month due to back injury, but had to rest for additional two weeks last month as pain recurred. "I feel strange that the season is ending. I hope everyone bears fruit," Jeon said. "I also have learned a lot."

Jeon will receive LPGA Tour rookie award right after Round 1 ends in the upcoming competition. She already has prepared her speech, where she will talk about her thoughts on grabbing a rookie title at the LPGA Tour and also appreciation for people who supported her. When she returns to Korea, Jeon will treat her back for five weeks and during this time she will focus on rehabilitation without training in order to prepare for the 2017 season.