Kang Jimin Wins the Sime Darby LPGA in Malaysia
South Korean Kang Jimin won the inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club yesterday. The back to back birdies paved the player’s way to her second title in her LPGA career. Not only was this her second triumph, but also
the biggest cheque the charismatic player has ever cashed. More specifically, the birdie spree earned her a nice sum of US$ 270,000.
The Asian golfer sunk in a 12-foot downhill putt on the final hole to end with a winning six-under 65 for a total of 204. By the end of the game, the LPGA veteran Juli Inkster was tied for a lead with Jimin. The nail biting situation finally came to a conclusion
when Inkster carded a bogey on the final hole and hence dropped out of a tie for the lead.
Had she made par on the final hole, Juli would have managed a victory in the Sime Darby. This was the opportunity for the 50-year-old American player to become the oldest winner on the LPGA Tour and she didn’t quite avail this.
The second round leader, the Swedish Maria Hjorth and South Korean Lee Jee-Young of South Korea didn’t perform so well in the final round. Maria carded an even-par 71 and finished at a total of six-under 207 and tied for third place with Mika Miyazato of
Japan. Hjorth was doing well until she bogeyed the 18th hole and dropped from the top of the leader board. Jee-Young on the other hand posted a four-over 75 to go down to the ninth position and tie with Kim Song-Hee of South Korea and Beatriz Recari
of Spain.
All in all, the star of the show was definitely Jimin. The Korean made seven birdies and only slipped from her brilliant performance when she dropped a shot on the second hole. After she got the winner’s award, Jimin was left speechless. This was definitely
a really special moment for the player as she could hardly catch her breath went she entered the conference room. Excitedly, Jimin said it has been a while and she is trying to soak it (the victory) in. Thanks to her triumph in Malaysia, she is now on the
20th place on the LPGA money list.
“That’s not that easy to do for me. I played solid. I hit a lot of putts. As you guys can tell, my score was good enough to win a tournament,” said Jimin. “Breathe in, breathe out. I felt the nerves at that time (18th hole). I pulled my caddy, I was like,
I’m getting goose bumps. I can’t breathe anymore. And my caddy said: ‘Jimin, take a deep breath. Breathe, breathe’.”
The first time Jimin won an an LPGA Tour event was the 2005 LPGA Corning Classic. Having been three years until victory, nerves did get to her as she was about to go for the eighteenth hole. When asked about her last shot, she said that was all she did towards
the end. She came as far to achieve par and stay in second place, but the ambitious Korean attempted for a birdie and fortunately was successful.
The close competitor, Inkster, who is also a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, was really on a roll at one point in time. Sinking birdies on the 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes she had made her way on the top of the leader board.
Even though the two-putt bogey on the 18th prevented her from winning, she earned her best finish of the season yesterday.
When asked about her performance, Inkster said she could have made a birdie on the eleventh hole but wasn’t successful. Overall, she thinks she putted pretty well yesterday minus the loose shot. Obviously she was referring to her slip on the eighteenth hole
that cost her victory.
Overall, the tournament went very well. All the players tried their best but it was Kang Jimin who attained the victory at the end. The next LPGA tournament will be the LPGA Hana Bank Championship that will start in South Korea from October 29th.
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