전인지, LPGA 2관왕 등극 In Gee Chun barely beats Lydia Ko for LPGA season’s lowest scoring average

 

In Gee Chun barely beats Lydia Ko for LPGA season’s lowest scoring average

In Gee Chun  (Getty Images)

 

2016 Final Scoring Average Leaders

 

​미국 진출 첫 해
신인상, 평균 최저타수상 수상

1978년 낸시 로페즈(미국)에 이어 두 번째

 

"전설들과 함께 내 이름이 있다는 것은 큰 영광이다"

미국 진출 첫 해 신인상과 평균 최저타수상을 수상한 전인지가 2관왕에 오른 소감을 전했다.

 

전인지는 21일(한국시간) 미국 플로리다주 네이플스 티뷰론 골프장(파72/6540야드)에서 끝난 미국여자프로골프(LPGA) 투어 시즌 최종전 CME그룹 투어 챔피언십에서 최종합계 13언더파 275타로 7위에 올랐다.

 

세계랭킹 1위 리디아 고(뉴질랜드)와 평균 최저타수상을 두고 치열한 경쟁을 벌였던 전인지는 18홀 평균 69.583타를 기록하며, 69.596타에 그친 리디아 고를 간발의 차로 제치고 수상의 영광을 안았다. 이미 LPGA 투어 신인상을 예약했던 전인지는 최저타수상까지 수상하며 미국 진출 첫해 2관왕에 등극했다.

 

전인지는 LPGA 공식 홈페이지에 게재된 인터뷰에서 "(평균 최저타수상 수상은) 나에게 큰 영광이다. 전설들 다음에 내 이름이 있게 됐기 때문"이라며 "오늘 리디아 고, 양희영과 함께 플레이를 했다. 항상 그들과 플레이를 하는데 리디아 고는 대단한 선수다. 그에게서 많은 것을 배운다"고 겸손한 소감을 전했다.

 

한편 LPGA 투어에서 데뷔 시즌에 신인상과 최저타수상을 동시에 수상한 것은 1978년 낸시 로페즈(미국)에 이어 전인지가 두 번째다. [스포츠투데이 이상필 기자]

 

By  Beth Ann Nichols  
Nov 20, 2016

NAPLES, Fla. – It wasn’t until In Gee Chun took her 5,010th stroke of 2016 that she clinched the Vare Trophy. A clutch Chun poured in a birdie putt from 9 feet on the 72nd hole of the season-ender in Naples, Fla., to clip World No. 1 Lydia Ko for the season’s lowest scoring average.

 

When the pair, playing alongside each other in the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship, came to No. 18, an astonishing 0.001 separated them. Chun’s closing birdie brought the final tally to 0.013.

 

Chun, who birdied her last three holes to shoot 70, finished the season with a 69.583 scoring average while Ko posted 69.596.

 

What did Ko say to Chun when they hugged after the round?

“Big congratulations, In Gee. You need to buy dinner next time.”

 

Five players broke the 70 mark in ’16, which is believed to be a record on tour. Ariya Jutanugarn (69.870), Shanshan Feng (69.877) and Ha Na Jang (69.976) rounded out the group.

 

In Gee Chun, shown with the 2016 Vare Trophy  / LPGA

 

“I tried to fight it out until the end,” said World No. 1 Ko, who came up empty at the year-ender despite a tournament course-record 10-under 62 in the second round.

 

The elegant Chun, already a two-time major winner, became only the second rookie in LPGA history to clinch the Vare Trophy, joining Nancy Lopez (1978). The popular South Korean player, who has a fan club known as the “Flying Dumbos,” burst onto the LPGA scene in 2015 when she claimed the U.S. Women’s Open title at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club.

 

Don’t forget that Chun’s 2016 got off to a shaky start when she suffered an injury at the airport in Singapore after Ha Na Jang’s father let go of a suitcase at the top an escalator. The freak accident kept Chun out of competition for most of March and caused pain that lingered throughout the season.

 

Chun posted top-3 finishes in her first four starts of the season but didn’t collect a trophy until the Evian Championship, when she set a major championship record – for men and women – with her 21-under 263 total. Jason Day (2015 PGA Championship) and Henrik Stenson (2016 British Open) held the previous record at 20 under.

 

On Thursday night, Chun beautifully delivered a memorized speech in English when she accepted the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year trophy, no easy feat for a player who only recently started learning the langauge. She joked that she had practiced it 100 times.

 

 

“I think it was more pressure than winning putt,” Chun said, smiling.

She nailed them both.

• • •

http://golfweek.com/2016/11/20/lpga-in-gee-chun-beats-lydia-ko-for-low-scoring-average-vare-trophy

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