User:"Screen Empress" Hong Hyun-ji, Hana Financial Group's first day leading the group, "I want to set my goal high."
Hong Hyun-ji was named in the lead on the first day of the Hana Financial Group Championship.
Hong Hyun-ji tied eight birdies and one bogey for a 7-under 65 in the first round of the Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won and winning prize money of 270 million won) on the 26th at Bears Best Cheongna (par 72/6712 yards) in Cheongna, Incheon.
As of 3:30 p.m., when the other players are still playing, Hong is leading by one shot.
On the day, Hong got off to a good start by successfully hunting birdies in four consecutive holes from holes 1 to 4. She made her only bogey on the day in the eighth hole, but made consecutive birdies in the 12th and 13th holes to boost the mood.
Hong Hyun-ji, who gained momentum, jumped to the lead with a birdie on the 17th hole, and finished the first round in a good mood by making a long-distance birdie putt about 13 meters away on the last 18th hole.
Hong said, "I had a great shot and putt today. I think I got all the shots when I got the chance. I got a lot of birdies," adding, "I had a lot of regrets, but I put a lot of long putts and took the chance well. I think it helped me score points."
Hong Hyun-ji is a rookie who made her debut in this season's regular tour. However, she did not perform well in the first half of the year, and suffered a bitter taste of failing to make the cut for three consecutive weeks in September. However, she succeeded in turning the mood by achieving the first top 10 of the season at the Daebo Housdi Open (tied for eighth place) last week, and is continuing her momentum through this year's event.
"The point was that I broke the trend (of failing to make the cut for three consecutive weeks) at last week's competition," Hong said. "I gained confidence that I can do it (through the top 10)."
Her experience in screen golf also helped her. Hong is a rookie in the KLPGA tour, but she has nine wins in the G-tour. She has two wins this year while playing both the KLPGA tour and the G-tour.
"I think my experience in the G-tour helped me," Hong said. "Screen golf is one of the tools for practice, and I think (the G-tour) is also a part of the same tour. I don't think (golf and screen golf) are different genres," he added.
Meanwhile, Hong is ranked 67th in prize money before the latest event. At this rate, it could lead to a seed competition, but if she performs well in this event, she could be expected to enter the top 60 in prize money.
However, Hong is determined to participate in this year's event after emptying her mind. "In the first half of the year, I was under a lot of pressure to pass the cut and maintain the ranking. In the second half of the year, I was rather relieved," Hong said. "I think it helped me a lot to have the mindset that even if I fall, I will go to the seed rankings. I want to play until the end with the mindset that it is okay to play in the seed rankings."
Of course, if there is an opportunity, I will definitely seize it. "I want to aim a little higher (for this year's event). I want to go as far as I can," Hong said, renewing her commitment.
