WEIHAI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The China LPGA Tour regulars will face their toughest test of the season starting on Friday when they tee off against their South Korean counterparts at the Asiana Airlines Open in Shandong province.
With players from the LPGA of (South) Korea Tour having won the KRW700 million (RMB4.1 million) tournament for six consecutive years, the visitors will again be a formidable force at the Weihai Point Golf Resort - their line-up this year includes 17 of the top-20 players on the current KLPGA Tour money list.
Among those joining defending champion Kim Ji-hyun at the GolfPlan-designed layout is Choi Hye-jin, the world No. 21 who currently tops the KLPGA money list. Others among the 36-strong South Korean contingent include Cho Jeong-min and Lee Da-yeon, the No. 2 and No. 3 players respectively on the current KLPGA order of merit.
All told, the South Korean roster at the CLPGA-KLPGA co-sanctioned tournament features nine different players who have amassed 13 wins in 15 tournaments this season. The 54-hole event includes 36 players from both tours and four wildcards in a no-cut field.
Undoubtedly, all eyes will be on Choi as the 19-year-old is in the midst of a spectacular campaign. So far this year she has won four times in South Korea, including last week at the McCol Yongpyong Resort Open with SBS Golf for her eighth career title.
Her four wins in the first half of the season tied the KLPGA Tour record, something Choi was all too aware of.
"Since Park Sung-hyun in 2016, no one has won five times in a season. I want be the first one," said the teenager who finished second at the 2017 US Women's Open as an amateur.
"The fairways here are narrow. Compared to aggressive play, it's more likely that the conservative play would prevail. There are two events left in the first half of the [KLPGA Tour] season I will try my best to have good finishes."
Defending champion Kim, who won last year's tournament by a stroke following a birdie at the penultimate hole, said she would need her "best stuff" this week if she was to repeat. The 27-year-old Seoul native has been resting the past two weeks after injuring her shoulder.
"I remember that last year the fairways were narrow and the wind was strong. My strategy was good. I believe that my plan would work again this year," she said.
With China No. 1 Feng Shanshan missing from this year's tournament, in her place is a host of her young compatriots looking to stop the South Korean juggernaut.
Zhang Weiwei, the current CLPGA Tour money leader, is having a career-best year that has seen her win twice this season in Wuhan and Beijing. She is joined by teenage star Du Mohan, a winner in Zhuhai last month, EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open champion Liu Yan, and Liu Yiyi who claimed the CTBC Ladies Classic title in March.
Playing in Weihai for the first time since 2016, Zhang said the key to winning this week was all about executing solid and confident tee shots and keeping the ball 'alive' on the par-71 layout that sits on a peninsula jutting out into the Yellow Sea.
"You could have a good score if you do that. I am confident in my driver now. I could hit driver over eight holes on this course. You need to take advantage when there is little wind and try to play safer when the wind picks up," said the 22-year-old Hubei native.
"The players from the China LPGA Tour are making progress and trying to catch up [to the South Koreans]. The gap definitely is there, but I think it would be smaller than in previous years."
