Korean women’s golfers, who have reigned as the world’s strongest, jointly won 15 wins on the LPGA Tour in 2019. It decreased to 7 wins in 2021, and only 4 wins last year. It was the lowest since 3 wins in 2011. Since July of last year, there has been no victory in 16 competitions in a row. It was the first time in eight years that he missed all major titles, including the Player of the Year award.
In a desperate situation where a new star is desperately needed, Yoo Hae-ran (21) was the only KLPGA tour player to challenge the LPGA Q Series at the end of last year. After eight rounds of testing, she became the 7th senior Korean player to pass, following Pak Se-ri (45, 1997) and Anna Lin (27, 2021).
Yu Hae-ran, who won 5 career wins on the KLPGA Tour, said in a recent call, “I decided it was the most appropriate time to make a change, so she took on the challenge unconditionally,” she said in a recent call. “I think going to the US to learn more about golf and broaden my horizons will help me prolong my playing career,” she said. In 2019, when he was playing in the second part of the tour, he won the KLPGA Tour competition as an invited player. The KLPGA Tour debuted without a seed match, but he said he was nervous about playing the LPGA Tour seed match. “Experienced on the demanding major KLPGA tour courses helped. Since I am receiving attention as the top passer, I prepare harder even though the burden increases.”
He served as a national representative in his junior days and won a silver medal in the 2018 Asian Games team event. He was named the 2020 KLPGA Tour Rookie of the Year. He has played golf solid enough to have 17 top-10 tournaments in 2022. He is tall at 176 cm, but his strength is in precision shots rather than long shots. It was 19th in average drive shot distance in the 2022 season (244.6 yards) and 3rd in green hit rate (78.5%). 스포츠토토
He handles the long irons well, and he says he gets about 185 yards with his favorite 4-iron. He has a high trajectory and high-spin shot, but he had a brief slump about two years ago while fixing his swing to hit a long hit. “At that point he stopped correcting and returned to his original swing. However, when he saw players attempting a two-on on par 5 holes during the US Q Series, the idea to increase his distance grew stronger again. He is working hard to put more power on the ball.”
Rather than thinking about the distant future, he has a personality that puts all his energy into the task given in front of him. He is also said to be persevering and optimistic for his age. “He seemed like he was going to win, but he got angry when he didn’t. These days, ‘Let’s raise the ranking as much as I can. I think it will work somehow. I think you learn as you gain experience.”
He is one of the strongest LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year candidates for the 2023 season. Lucy Lee (20, USA), a “genius girl” who competed in the US Women’s Open when she was 11 years old, and Katsu Minami (24, Japan), who has 8 victories on the JLPGA tour, are her rivals. Korean players won the rookie award for five consecutive years until 2019, but after that, they gave it to Thai players in succession. First of all, Hae-Ran Yoo plans to leave for Thailand this month for off-season training and concentrate on practicing by preparing for various situations around the green. He was overflowing with confidence when he said, “You can say that my peak has not yet come!”