S. Koreans form strong LPGA rookie class for 2022

▲ An Narin of South Korea poses with a sign showing her 2022 LPGA membership after winning the LPGA Q-Series at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Dec. 12, 2021, in this photo provided by SEMA Sports Marketing. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Choi Hye-jin of South Korea watches her shot during the final round of the LPGA Q-Series at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Dec. 12, 2021, in this photo provided by the LPGA. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Successful qualifiers from the LPGA Q-Series pose with signs showing their 2022 LPGA membership at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Dec. 12, 2021, in this photo provided by the LPGA. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand celebrates clinching her 2022 LPGA Tour card after the conclusion of the LPGA Q-Series at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Dec. 12, 2021, in this photo provided by the LPGA. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Hinako Shibuno (L) and Ayaka Furue, both of Japan, hold up cards showing their 2022 LPGA membership after the end of the LPGA Q-Series at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Dec. 12, 2021, in this photo provided by the LPGA. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France (R) and her caddie, Sebastien Clement, pose for photos during the final round of the LPGA Q-Series at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, on Dec. 12, 2021, in this photo provided by the LPGA. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

LPGA-rookies

S. Koreans form strong LPGA rookie class for 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- Two South Korean tour stars will be part of what should be a deep and talented rookie class on the LPGA Tour in 2022, with a handful of international tour winners about to find out how they stack up against the world's top competition.

Two-time Korea LPGA (KLPGA) winner An Narin emerged as the medalist at the conclusion of a two-week, 144-hole LPGA Q-Series, the annual qualifying tournament for the U.S.-based women's circuit, in Alabama on Sunday. From the initial field of 110, the top 70 and ties survived the first cut after four rounds. Then the top 45 players and ties after four more rounds received LPGA cards for 2022. An finished at 33-under 541.

An, ranked 61st in the world, picked up both of her two career KLPGA wins in 2020. The 25-year-old didn't have a victory this year but still ranked ninth on the money list, on the strength of 11 top-10s in 24 tournaments. She was second in the KLPGA in average putting strokes per round and sixth in scoring average.

"I am very happy to have won the Q-Series. The past two weeks have been physically straining, but I'm happy to have finished on a high note," An said Sunday, according to an interview transcript provided by the LPGA. "I'm excited to be able to travel to different countries. And I'm also looking forward to playing with players that I've only been able to see on TV."

As KLPGA names go, few are as big as Choi Hye-jin, who tied for eighth at the Q-Series. The 22-year-old has collected 10 KLPGA titles, including two as an amateur in 2017. Also during the 2017 season, Choi received an invitation to play at the U.S. Women's Open and finished runner-up to the South Korean champion, Park Sung-hyun.

Since turning pro in August 2017, Choi has been one of KLPGA's finest ball strikers. She has led the tour in greens in regulation every season since 2018, while hovering around the top 10 in driving distance.

Choi, world No. 54, has had two runner-up finishes and six top-10s overall at LPGA tournaments that she has played on a sponsor's invitation.

"I still can't believe I got my LPGA card. I am really excited," Choi said. "I worked hard for this opportunity, and I will try to make it count."

Choi stayed among the leaders through all eight rounds, though she admitted she tired over the final stretch. She also had a front-row seat to An's excellent performance in Alabama.

"Narin played so well, and I have a lot to learn from her," Choi said. "I will go back to the drawing board and address my shortcomings in practice."

An and Choi will now bolster an already strong South Korean contingent in LPGA. The country has churned out Player of the Year winners in four of the past five seasons and five straight Rookie of the Year winners, from 2015 to 2019.

The tour didn't award the top rookie prize in 2020, when the season was drastically cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. And South Korea's streak ended this year when Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand ran away with the rookie award, thanks to her maiden major title at ANA Inspiration.

Another Thai youngster, Atthaya Thitikul, will try to foil the two South Koreans' bid for the rookie honor this year. She finished alone in third at the Q-Series.

The 18-year-old sensation is already No. 18 in the world. This year, she swept up the money title, Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards on the Ladies European Tour (LET), where she collected two tournament wins. She won her first pro tournament in 2017 at age 14.

"It's just a dream come true. I know everyone will have a goal to be a member in LPGA because it's the biggest tour in the world for women, and I've done it," Thitikul said. "I'll try to improve what I have to improve for next year. It's going to be a tough year for me, first-year rookie against all the best players in the world."

But Thitikul wasn't even the highest-ranked golfer at the Q-Series. The title belonged to Ayaka Furue of Japan, who was No. 15 at the start of the Q-Series and has since climbed a spot to No. 14.

Furue has won seven times on the Japanese tour, including once as an amateur in 2019, and finished fourth at this year's final LPGA major, the Amundi Evian Championship. Furue finished the Q-Series in seventh place.

None of the aforementioned golfers can claim what another Japanese player, Hinako Shibuno, has: an LPGA major title.

Shibuno came out of nowhere to win the AIG Women's Open in 2019 and was eligible to jump to LPGA. But she chose to stay home and her window to take the direct path to LPGA closed. Shibuno, a six-time Japanese tour champion and world No. 37, entered the Q-Series and earned her LPGA membership by finishing tied for 20th.

There will be no shortage of talent from Europe either.

Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France, formerly the world's top-ranked amateur, finished runner-up to An at the Q-Series at 32-under. The 21-year-old was the only player to shoot in the 60s in each of the first seven rounds, before stumbling to a 72 on the final day.

She turned professional in August this year and won just her second tournament as a pro on the LET.

Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark, who won the LET's money title in 2020 and played on two Solheim Cup teams, has five European victories to her resume. The 25-year-old finished the Q-Series in a tie for 14th.

Four amateurs earned their 2022 LPGA card at the Q-Series, including the University of Arkansas senior Brooke Matthews. One of the top U.S. collegiate players this year, Matthews set a new NCAA 54-hole record by shooting a 25-under 191 at the Cougar Classic in September.

Duke senior Gina Kim, who helped her school to the 2019 NCAA title, also survived the Q-Series.

In a testament to the increasingly global nature of women's golf, the 46 players who earned their LPGA cards hailed from 13 countries: South Korea, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, China, Finland, Canada, Thailand, the Netherlands and the United States.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved