‘Challenging to win 2 consecutive titles’ Ji-Hee Ji “You have to be fearless in the match. I’m confident”
“Playing without fear leads to good results.”
These are the keys to winning in match play for 37-year-old Ji-hee Kim, who plays on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour. Ji-hee will make her second consecutive appearance in the Bank of Hope Match Play ($1.5 million purse) today at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
“The beauty of match play is that if you play fearlessly, it leads to good results,” said Jeehee at the defending champion’s press conference on Thursday (July 24), one day before the start of the tournament, “and (last year) it led to good results because I knew that if I made a mistake, I could make up for it by being more aggressive. So I’m more confident than in stroke play tournaments.”메이저사이트
Ji earned her sixth career LPGA Tour victory when she defeated Ayaka Furue (Japan) in the final of last year’s event. At the time, she was 36 years and 17 days old, making her the oldest South Korean player to win on the LPGA Tour.
“I have only good memories of this tournament. I have high expectations. I still remember winning last year. I hope my luck will continue this time and I can play a good game.”
Although she was happy to win last year, she admitted that she struggled physically and said, “You can only win match play if you are physically fit. She praised herself for doing well. Thanks to that, I also qualified for the US Women’s Open. It was worth it,” she said, looking back on her victory.
“I think the mindset is different,” said Ji-hee, who didn’t have any special tricks up her sleeve as she attempted to win her second consecutive tournament. “Unlike stroke play, where you have to maintain a good score from the first day to the fourth day, you have to think about how your opponent is playing,” she said.
“You have to think about the set-up on each hole, how to approach each hole, and how to hit certain shots in a certain way,” she said of her game plan.
Ji-hee was paired with Lynn Grant (SWE), Matilda Kastren (FIN), and Maddie Jericho (KEN) in the group stage. Her first opponent in the qualifiers is Kastren.
