‘Super Rookie’ Bang Shin-sil, who is being touted as the next big star to lead the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) with a ‘super long hit’ of over 300 yards, is once again in contention for the title after shooting a 4-under par on the first day.
Bang shot a 4-under 68 with five birdies and one bogey in the first round of the 11th E1 Charity Open (total prize money of 900 million won¤winner’s purse of 162 million won) at Seongmunan CC (par 72) in Wonju, Gangwon Province on Saturday. He was tied for the lead with Ji Han-sol and Kim Min-sun7.
She birdied the second (par-4) and ninth (par-5) to cut her first-round deficit to two strokes, then bogeyed the 10th (par-4), but bounced back with birdies at the 12th (par-3) and 14th (par-4). She dropped another shot at the 16th (par-5) to finish at 4-under, tied for the lead with Kim Min-seon 7 and Ji Han-sol.
A rare long hitter for a female player, she hit her driver 293.3 yards off the tee on No. 1 (par-4) and a pitching wedge 148.2 yards for birdie on the par-3 12th. On the par-4 13th, where most players hit drivers, he hit a 279.8-yard drive with a wood.
The highlight was the par-5 16th. It’s a 545-yard par-5, but he hit his tee shot 283.9 yards with a 3-wood, then hit his second shot 245.1 yards with the same wood for a two-on. He was left 16.6 yards from the cup for eagle, but he made birdie with plenty of time to spare, showing the power of a long hitter.
“I’ve heard rumors that she’s a long 메이저사이트 hitter, but she not only has a lot of distance, but also a very good short game and a very good putting game,” said Choi Hye-jin (2-under par), a senior national team member in the same group.
Despite being a “conditional seed” this season after finishing 40th in last year’s seeding, Bang Shin-sil has had two top-five finishes in her previous four tournaments this season, including a fourth-place finish at the KLPGA Championship and a third-place finish at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship.
“It was a great experience to play with Hye-jin and learn a lot from her,” said Bang, who smiled sheepishly at her senior’s praise before adding, “I thought it was going to be a tough day because I had a cold and wasn’t feeling well before today, but fortunately, I felt good with my shots and my putts were falling well, which led to a good result.” “I intentionally teed off with a wood instead of a driver on the 16th hole because of the narrow fairways,” he added, “I’m not looking to win, I’m just looking to stay in the fairways, focus on each shot and do my best over the next two days.”