'The Devil's Course' has also become an old saying.
The KLPGA (Korea Women's Professional Golf) Tour Hanwha Classic (total prize money of 1.7 billion won and winning prize money of 306 million won) will be held at Jade Palace Golf Club (par 72, 6,797 yards) in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do from the 22nd. The competition, which received the most prize money among the KLPGA tours this season, was once notorious for its "heinous course difficulty". The narrow fairways and the rough covering the ankles were fear itself. When the ball falls into the rough, it was best to take it out to the fairway, let alone hit the green.
Controversy over the difficulty level has flared up in the 2022 tournament. When Hong Ji-won, who recorded a total of one over par in the fourth round without recording a single under-par score, won the championship, critics continued to point out that it was too difficult a course setting for female athletes to handle. However, since the 1990 Seoul Women's Open has a long history that has continued for more than 30 years and is at the risk of the most prize money on the tour, there were many opinions that it was natural to compete in a discriminating course.
◇사진제공=KLPGA
The course setting has been adjusted for the 2023 competition. The rough length was cut in half and the fairway width was increased by about 10m. Although it was still evaluated as not easy, as Kim Soo-ji topped the fourth round with a total of 13-under 275, the "difficulty controversy" quieted down.
The Jade Palace Golf Club, which opened in 2004, is where Greg Norman participated in the course design and construction process. It added 71 'Sand faced bunkers' that represent sharks' open mouths and six ponds. Not only the layout but also lawn management has been considered top-notch in each competition every year.
While the difficulty of this season's competition is not expected to change much from the previous year, interest in the competition for the championship is also hot.
Park Hyun-kyung and Lee Ye-won, who won three games side by side this year, and Yoon Na-na, who entered the top five of the season six times, are considered the most likely candidates. If all three players win this competition, they will surpass 1 billion won in cumulative prize money for the season, which will give them an advantage in the competition for the top prize money. Park Hyun-kyung tied for 10th place in the tournament last year, and Lee Ye-won was runner-up. Yoon Na-na will play in the Hanwha Classic for the first time since her professional debut.
◇사진제공=KLPGA
'Defending champion'Kim Soo-ji tries to win her second consecutive title. Hanwha Classic did not allow the team to defend the title except for Pak Se-ri, who won three consecutive games from 1995 to 1997. Attention is focusing on whether Kim Soo-ji, who has been strong in two major competitions, including the second place in the Korean Women's Open and the seventh place in the KLPGA Championship, will show her temperament as a `major hunter' again. Lee Da-yeon, the 2021 Hanwha Classic winner, and Bae So-hyun, who topped The Heaven Masters last week, also threw her hat in the ring. Erika Hara (Japan), who is considered Japan's representative long hitter of the JLPGA Tour, and Michaela Malixi (Philippines), who recently won the U.S. Women's Junior Championship and the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, are also drawing attention.
