“If I had to choose between playing on the KLPGA Tour and continuing to win and having a tough time on the LPGA Tour, I think I would choose the LPGA Tour again.”
‘Hot Six’ Lee Jung-eun, 27, has declared a comeback after a lengthy slump. “I’m really hoping that this year will be the year of my resurgence,” said Lee, who recently returned to Korea to compete in domestic tournaments.
In accordance with the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour guidelines, which require players with the same name to have a number after their name in order of entry, Lee’s tour registration is “Lee Jeong-6. Kim Se-young, a senior golfer on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, traveled to Korea for the tournament and was impressed by Lee’s performance, saying, “She’s a ‘hot six’.” The name is a combination of ‘hot’ meaning hot and ‘six’ meaning six. At the time, the energy drink “Hot Six” was all the rage, and it became Lee’s signature nickname.
True to her nickname, Lee won six tournaments in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons to win back-to-back KLPGA Tour money titles. She finished the LPGA Tour Qualifying Series at the top of the leaderboard at the end of 2018 and went on to win the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open.
Lee’s rise was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In 2021, she finished 13th on the money list ($1.08 million) but saved face with a runner-up finish at the Evian Championship. Last year, he dropped to 42nd on the money list ($700,000). While he’s still in the middle of the pack, he’s a far cry from the “hot six” he used to be, especially since he’s made just six starts this year. She has also missed the cut in her last four tournaments. This is because her sharp iron shots have become dull. Last year, she ranked 102nd in greens in regulation (67.93%), and this year she’s ranked 120th (70.09%).
Lee diagnosed her swing as being disjointed because she trained alone without a coach for nearly three years while playing on the LPGA Tour. She started working on her swing two years ago and spent time fixing her backswing, and now she’s focusing on getting her timing right during downswing impact. “Even this year, even if I scored well in the first and second rounds, there were times when I faltered badly in one round because my swing was not yet my own and I was not used to it,” he said. “It was mostly mental.” “Now, however, my swing correction is 80 percent. However, he added that his swing is now 80 percent corrected, and he hopes to show his fans his “hot six” soon.
“It’s true that this is a tough time, but I’m learning the most in my life,” Lee admitted. “I miss the days on the KLPGA Tour when I was hitting perfect shots, but I’m happy with my life on the LPGA Tour,” she said. “There are so many new things to see and learn while traveling overseas, such as the different courses and the atmosphere of playing with LPGA Tour players. I guess you could say it broadened my perspective.”
“Hopefully, this will be the year I win,” he said. He 안전놀이터 also vowed to improve his world ranking as much as possible to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after narrowly missing out on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lee will look to bounce back from a four-tournament losing streak when she competes in the LPGA Tour’s Bank of Hope Match Play ($1.5 million purse), which begins today (Sept. 25) at Shadow Creek Golf Course (Par 72) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He faced Sophia Schwartz (USA) on the first day of the group stage and led by two holes going into the 16th before dropping the last two holes to draw. She will look to win her remaining two group matches in straight sets to advance to the round of 16.
Elsewhere on the day, defending champion Ji Hee Lee (37) defeated Matilda Kastren (FIN) by three holes with two to play, while Ji-Eun Shin (31) won by three over Anna Lin (27). Kim Se-young (30), Hae-ran Hae (21) and Kim Ah-rim (28) suffered consecutive defeats.