Jinhee Lim has one of the longest training regimens of any player on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour.
When her teammates ask her to name a player who trains a lot, she doesn’t hesitate to point to her.
After the first round of the SK Shields-SK Telecom Open (total prize money of 1 billion won), the final event of the KLPGA Tour season, held at Rabiebel Country Club Old Course (Par 72) in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on Oct. 10, Lim practiced putting on the practice green until dark.
After carding five birdies without a bogey in the first round to finish in second place, one stroke behind leader Lee Da-yeon, Lim was still excited and didn’t want to stop practicing.
The chilly weather, with temperatures dipping below freezing, only got colder as the sun went down, but she was the last player to leave the practice green.
“I always review my putting after a round,” she said. It’s a routine I never skip,” she said, adding, “Nowadays, I can only do it for 30 minutes at most because the sun goes down quickly.”
Im carded seven birdies and one bogey in the second round on Nov. 11 to shoot a 6-under 66 and move into sole possession of the lead (11-under 133), two strokes off the pace of Lee, who was three strokes back.
If she maintains this position in the final round on Wednesday, she will win her fourth title of the season.
With Lee having already clinched the money prize and the grand prize, as well as the top spot on the scoring average, the only individual title up for grabs at the tournament is the Order of Merit.
“My game was better yesterday,” said Lim. Today, I had more shots to make up for my mistakes,” she reflected, adding, “Honestly, I didn’t expect to win the tournament, and I think that’s better.”
Lim made five of her seven birdies on the day, but on two occasions she holed birdie putts of more than six meters.
Lee Da-yeon, who will also be tied for the most wins with a victory, carded five birdies and two bogeys to drop three strokes and remain in contention heading into the final round.
Lee sank a 9-meter birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole to cut the deficit to two strokes after two rounds.
“A birdie over 6 meters is a bonus,” said Lim, who will be fighting for the title in the final round like a match play. Tomorrow, the winner will be the one who doesn’t miss when the birdie opportunity comes.”
Bang Shin-sil, the only other rookie with two wins, shot a 3-under 69 and is tied for third (5-under 139) with Chung So-i.
Chung So-yi dropped one stroke on the day to finish third for the second straight day.
Defending champion Park Min-ji, who shot an 11-over-par 83 the day before, her lowest round of the season, shot a 1-under-par 71 to move into a tie for 59th place (10-over-par 154). 슬롯게이밍
