SEOUL– As a former champion, South Korean LPGA veteran Ji Eun-hee would have liked nothing better than to return to the U.S. Women’s Open, set to tee off Thursday in South Carolina.
She had played at every one of them since her rookie season in 2008 and won it in 2009. But the 36-year-old hadn’t yet qualified for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, coming into the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in Las Vegas.
The only way for Ji to book her spot in the oldest major in women’s golf was to win the match-play event Sunday. And Ji went out and did exactly that, beating Ayaka Furue of Japan in the final by 3 & 2.
“I really wanted to play at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. I didn’t think I’d make it this year, and it hasn’t hit me yet I will be going after all,” Ji said after clinching her sixth career LPGA title at Shadow Creek Golf Course. “I’ve fallen too much in the world rankings, and I wasn’t playing a lot earlier in the year because of COVID-19. I’ve been down on myself for a bit, but this victory here has given me a boost. I am so excited.
“I knew I had to win this tournament to get into the U.S. Women’s Open,” Ji added. “That helped me focus even harder.”
But there’s one more piece of business to take care of.
“I haven’t bought my ticket (to South Carolina) yet. I have to go get it now,” Ji said.
The match-play competition put 64 players into 16 groups of four, and they played round-robin matches from Wednesday to Friday to determine the 16 group winners to make up the round of 16. The knockout stage was played over the weekend, and Ji played 29 holes in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals Saturday, followed by 31 more holes for the semifinals and the final Sunday.
Ji helped herself a bit by dispatching Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden in just 12 holes in the quarterfinals Saturday.
“It has been a draining tournament, both physically and mentally, because I had to play so many rounds,” Ji said. “But finishing Saturday early helped me a great deal. I also got to end my semifinal match this morning a bit early, and I was able to conserve some energy. My feet were hurting, but I was able to put together a good finish.”
Ji made some key par putts in the final, but the highlight of the round came at the par-five ninth hole, where Ji holed out from about 92 yards out for an eagle that gave her a 1-up lead.
Ji said she switched her wedge, from a 58-degree club to a 52-degree club, at the last minute after talking to her caddie, Casey Johnson.
“I knew I hit it well, but I didn’t think the ball would go in,” Ji said. “That eagle gave me such a huge confidence boost.”
With Furue missing some par putts, Ji kept making hers on the back nine and finished the deal with another par save at the par-five 16th, despite missing the green with her second shot and failed to get her third shot out of the rough.
With the trophy in tow, Ji already has set plans for the U.S. Women’s Open.
“Get there, rest first, and then see the course and then just do same thing as this week,” she said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency