So Yeon Ryu off to fiery start at Incheon
South Korean So Yeon Ryu displayed a rock-solid performance in the first round of LPGA Hana Bank Championship 2012, as she carded a 66 to steer clear of a tough resistance.
The three-day LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournament is featuring big names like current world number one Yani Tseng, Na Yeon Choi who finished runner-up last year, Stacy Lewis,
Suzann Pettersen and Michelle Wie of the United States.
The South Korean star, who was brimming with enthusiasm and courage when she set foot on the Ocean Course, Incheon, South Korea, on Friday morning, looked thrilled after she surged past most
of the hot favourites on the leaderboard.
Making the most of favourable weather conditions, Ryu parred the first hole and reeled off a birdie on the par-4 second. She then parred the difficult par-3 third.
It was a good start—but not without flaws. Ryu misjudged her putt on the greens of the par-4 fourth hole and ended up registering a bogey.
After tainting her scorecard with a bogey, the LPGA giant picked up pace and kept posting birdies on different holes.
She made a birdie-putt on the 5th hole, cementing her position on the leaderboard.
On the back nine, her performance looked nearly flawless as she did not miss chances to make birdies, but also avoided bogeys till the end of the round. Ryu shot birdies on the 10th
15th and the tricky par-3 17th.
Despite standing her ground, Ryu faced a tough time from South Korean Ha-Neul Kim and Swedish Karin Sjodin.
Sjodin impressed the spectators at Incheon by posting a 64 in the opening round. On the other hand, Kim also proved a tougher contender than her critics had hoped, as she carded a 66.
Ryu is being regarded as a favourite for the LPGA Hana Bank Championship as her performance has been good in the current season. She won the 2012 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic by seven strokes.
“Actually, timing is really important in golf. So I felt like I must have success with the birdie on hole 7 and 8, but I missed it. So it made me nervous because I really wanted to win this
tournament,” she had said during the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic.
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