Yun In-a (ranked 29th in the world), a candidate for the LPGA Rookie of the Year award, is facing a break after a shocking missed cut in her debut match. She has about a month off until her next LPGA tournament, giving her time to make up for her weaknesses and quickly adapt to the local environment.
In the second round of the LPGA Tour Founders Cup held at the Bradenton CC (par 71) in Bradenton, Florida on the 8th, Yun lost 3 strokes and finished in a tie for 94th place (4 over par 146), failing to make the cut for the final round, which was limited to the top 67 players (tied for 50th place, even par 142). Her fairway accuracy rate was 42.8% (12/28), her green accuracy rate was 63.8% (23/36), and her average number of putts per round was 31.5, which was unstable. As a result, she only had 6 birdies and committed 10 bogeys. Tension, pressure, and lack of confidence were the reasons for losing so many strokes.
At this tournament, only 5 rookies passed the cut, including two Japanese players, Miyu Yamashita (ranked 13th in the world) and Rio Takeda (ranked 16th in the world).
The debut stage is a big burden for everyone. Among the former LPGA Rookie of the Year winners, Shin Ji-ae and Kim Se-young learned from the bitter lesson of missing the cut in their official debut matches and went on to achieve success.
Shin Ji-ae missed the cut in her official debut match (SBS Open) in 2009 due to pressure and tension, but she made a big turnaround by winning 3 wins that year and simultaneously winning the prize money king and rookie of the year awards. Shin Ji-ae was a super rookie who had already won 3 wins in 2008, including a major win, not as an official member.
Kim Se-young, the 2015 Rookie of the Year, won the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic, her second tournament after missing the cut in her debut match. His father's question to his daughter, who was in a 'mental breakdown', "Are you afraid?" along with the age-old teaching of "Face your fear" gave her the courage to take the plunge.
Most of the big players have had good results from their debut matches, or, even if they haven't, they've used the bitter lessons as a tonic and quickly made a turnaround.
Fortunately, Yun In-a has plenty of time until her next LPGA tournament. Among the three consecutive Asian Swing tournaments, Yun In-a has no chance to participate in the previous Thailand and Singapore tournaments, which only allow the top players and invited players from last year's results to participate. Yun In-a will compete in the European Women's Professional Golf PIF Saudi Ladies International (total prize money of $5 million) held in Saudi Arabia this week, and then compete in the Blue Bay LPGA in China from March 6th. The Blue Bay LPGA has been changed to a full-field tournament this year, giving rookie Yun In-a a chance.
Like the Korean proverb 'It's better to be beaten first', if Yun In-a quickly fills in her shortcomings and makes a turnaround, missing the cut in her debut match can be a bitter but good medicine for her body.
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