SEOUL: South Korean golfer Lee Jeong-eun, winner of the 2019 U.S. Women's Open and LPGA Rookie of the Year, has expressed satisfaction with her recent swing change. The comments came after her performance at the BMW Ladies Championship, the only LPGA tournament held in South Korea.
Yonhap News Agency reports that Lee shot a second consecutive round of four-under 68 at Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, northwest of Seoul. She stands at eight-under overall, three strokes behind tournament leader Minjee Lee of Australia.
"Earlier in the year, I wasn't very comfortable with my new swing, and I wasn't consistent with my ball-striking," Lee stated during her press conference. "My body is getting more used to the new swing, and I think it's beginning to show on the course."
Lee's recent rounds have been notably consistent despite varying conditions. On Thursday, she was one of eight players to shoot a round of 68, whereas only seven players broke 70 during the second round due to windy conditions.
Lee also detailed specific challenges she has been working on, such as the rotation of her right shoulder on the backswing and the timing of her weight shift on the downswing. "The key to my new swing is to make sure I don't get ahead of myself on the downswing," she added.
Despite her consistent play, Lee encountered difficulties on the par-4 18th hole, which led to her only bogey of the second round. "The fairway is sloped from right to left, and so I aimed right and tried to get the ball roll back toward the center," Lee explained. "I didn't get the timing down."
Looking ahead, Lee plans to focus on minimizing errors in the next two rounds. "The bogey on the last hole was a letdown, but we still have two more rounds of golf left," she said. "And I know why I made the mistakes that I made. I want to avoid big numbers and play some steady golf."