Players were ordered to keep 2m apart and there was no touching the flagsticks without gloves as women’s professional golf yesterday returned to South Korea amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spectators were barred from the Lakewood Country Club as the KLPGA Championship, a domestic tournament, got under way with world top-10 players Park Sung-hyun, Kim Sei-young and Lee Jeong-eun in the field.
In an unusually quiet round in Yangju, northeast of Seoul, none of the trio could break par, with Park and Lee carding one-over 73s and Kim a 74.
Photo: AFP
Joint leaders Bae Seon-woo, Kim Char-young and Hyun Se-lin all shot five-under 67.
Three more players were a shot behind.
Defending champion Choi Hye-jin was two strokes back. Like many players, she did not know how to react with no gallery and no applause.
“I birdied the first hole and I didn’t know how I should celebrate it,’’ she told Yonhap news agency. “I made an eagle and I just kept it to myself.”
However, without fans, the play was quicker and it was easier to concentrate, she added.
The tournament, normally overlooked outside of South Korea, is the first high-level women’s golf to be played since the US-based LPGA suspended its season in February.
With sports fans worldwide long deprived of live action, rights have been sold to broadcasters in countries including the US, Canada and Australia.
“Interest is very high since this is the first golf tour in the world amid the pandemic,” the LPGA of Korea said in a statement.
To avoid any infection of the novel coronavirus, players were advised to keep 2m apart on the course and minimize physical contact, while touching the pin without gloves was prohibited.
Players also had to wear masks before and after their rounds, but could choose whether to do so during play — with most deciding against.
Apart from the host broadcaster, media were restricted to the first and 10th tees, with personnel required to wear masks at all times.
“I was surprised to see so many camera crews at the first tee, feeling as if I was seeing a gallery,” Park said.
“From the second tee, it became all quiet and you could hear every little sound,” she said. “It felt a little boring, yet refreshing.”
South Korea is a hotbed for women’s golfing talent, with eight players in the world top 20.
Park, the world No. 3 and a two-time major winner; sixth-ranked Kim Sei-young, a nine-time winner on the LPGA Tour; and No. 10 Lee Jeong-eun are part of a 150-strong field chasing the US$180,000 winner’s check from an event-record purse of US$2.5 million.
Bae only completed two weeks of self-isolation six days ago following her return from Japan.
Playing without fans was a “pity,” Kim Sei-young said after her pretournament practice.
“Usually a lot of fans show up, more here in [South] Korea than in the US,” she said. “But I’m thankful for just even being able to play.”
Everyone entering the course had their temperature checked and had to provide their personal information.
Players are required to eat their meals alone to maintain social distancing, with no caddies or family members allowed to sit at the same table in the lounge.
Additional reporting by AP
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