“I imagined winning a lot” after second-round 12-under total, 5-shot lead
Lim’s tee shot.
Lim is a star player on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour who is both skilled and popular.
As a rookie in 2019, she won three tournaments, including the KB Financial Star Championship, and added one each in 2021 and last year.
Last year’s win came at the Korea Women’s Open, giving her two of her five career victories at majors.
With such a proven skill set, Lim is a fan favorite.
Fans flock to cheer her on at every tournament.
She won the KLPGA Tour’s fan favorite award in 2021 and last year for the second consecutive year.
Her cool and clean swing is the source of her popularity.
After finishing last season ranked fifth on the money list and sixth in scoring average, Lim was considered a potential rival to Park
Min-ji, who was dubbed the “big thing” before the start of this season.
This year, however, Lim had her toughest season since her debut.
Her results have been inconsistent due to physical and mental injuries, and she withdrew from the Korean Women’s Open in June
before defending her title with a sore ankle and took a month and a half off.
The after-effects of her car accident last year had not fully healed, and she combined treatment and rest, but even after returning in
August, she was unable to regain her form.
Lim shot a 5-under 67 in the second round of the Sangsangin-Korea Economic TV Inaugural (total prize money of 1.2 billion won)
on Tuesday at the Mulgil-Bloomgil Course (Par 72) at Lakewood Country Club in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, to lead with a 12-under 132 total.
He led for two consecutive days after the first round, signaling that he has completely broken out of his slump and is back to his old self.
It was the first time in a year and four months since last year’s Korean Women’s Open that Lim finished with a second-round lead
in a four-round event. At that time, Lim raced to victory after taking the lead in the third round.
Lim, who shot a 7-under 65 the day before to prelude her comeback, was cautious, saying, “I don’t know yet,” but she continued her upward trend with six birdies.
She had a one-stroke lead the day before, but in the second round, she extended her lead to five strokes over the second-place finisher.
Lim said, “As my body improved, I regained my senses. I healed my mental wounds by thinking as many positive thoughts as I
could,” she said, “I imagined myself winning a lot. I wanted to be a player who was ready when the opportunity came.”
“I’m trying to focus on how much I can hit rather than winning,” said Lim, who made one bogey on the sixth hole (par-3) after
dropping her tee shot and second shot on the day. “I’m trying to make as many birdies as possible because my goal of a no-bogey was broken,” she added.
“It’s best if I can play without worrying about missing the cut,” she joked, and when asked about her winning score, she laughed, “I
hope the score I hit is the winning score.”
Even without a win, Kim Min-byul, who leads the Rookie of the Year race, is second on the Order of Merit and fifth on the money
list, is two strokes back in second place (7-under par 137) heading into the third round.
Tied for third place (6-under 138) were Kim Soo-ji, Hwang Yoo-min, Park Hyun-kyung, Park Bo-gyeom, Lee So-mi, and Choi Ga-bin.
Lee Ye-won, the winner of the prize money and grand prize, was tied for ninth (5-under par 139).
Bang, who won her second title of the season at the Dongbu Construction-Korea Land Trust Championship on Sept. 15, missed the
cut after shooting a 4-over-par 76 on the day. 19가이드03