'Signs of revival' KLPGA Lim Hee-jung "Forgetting the heyday and making a new start"

'Signs of revival' KLPGA Lim Hee-jung "Forgetting the heyday and making a new start"

Blog Article

There are signs that Lim Hee-jung, the box office hit of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) tour, is

making a comeback.

Lim Hee-jung shot a 3-under 69 in the second round of the KLPGA Tour Lotte Open held at the Bears Best Cheongna Golf

Club (par 72) in Incheon on the 5th.

Lim Hee-jung, who recorded scores in the 60s for two consecutive days following a 6-under 66 the previous day, is ready

to compete for the championship with a combined score of 9-under 135.

Lim Hee-jung is a star player with both skill and popularity, having won five tournaments, including the KB Financial

Group Star Championship and the Korea Women's Open, both major tournaments, and having won the popularity award

given by fans twice each year.

Lim Hee-jung has been in a severe slump this year.

Although he tied for 27th place in the season opener, he has missed the cut in four consecutive tournaments since the

domestic opening, and has recently failed to make the cut in three consecutive tournaments.

As her prize money ranking of 77th and her average strokes of 71st indicate, Lim Hee-jung's performance was at the

bottom.

The on-site cheering from passionate fans, hotter than that of any other player, often ended in two days.

Lim Hee-jung said, "From the beginning of the season, my putting was so poor that I wondered if it was the yips," and

attributed the cause of her poor performance primarily to her putting.

Lim Hee-jung, who was good at putting, is ranked 117th (31,875) in average putts per 18 holes this year.

Lim Hee-jung's poor performance began to come alive starting with the McCall-Mona Yongpyong Open that ended on the

30th of last month.

Lim Hee-jung tied for seventh place at the Yongpyong Open. It was her first top-10 finish this year. She shot a 69 in the

second round and a 68 in the final round, making it two consecutive days in the 60s.

Lim Hee-jung has not recorded a single score in the 60s in 22 rounds in 10 tournaments, excluding match play, since the

opening domestic tournament, the Doosan We've Championship, and before the Yongpyong Open.

Thanks to her 69 on the day, Lim Hee-jung has now scored in the 60s for four consecutive rounds.

Lim Hee-jung revealed the driving force behind the clear signs of revival, saying, "I have been living under tremendous

stress since last year," and "I feel like I am free from that stress now."

For Lim Hee-jung, the root of her stress is the car accident she suffered in 2022.

It was a serious enough accident to scrap the car, but fortunately there were almost no injuries.

But the aftereffects were long and severe.

The biggest aftereffect was that he gained weight rapidly. He looked back and said, "I gained weight for no reason. I think

it was because of the medicine. I was very stressed because I kept gaining weight even though I ate the same amount of

food, and that stress caused me to gain weight again, 안전 which was a vicious cycle."

The weight change had an immediate negative effect on her swing. Her smooth and consistent 'Im Hee-jeong style' swing

was disrupted. Naturally, she was unable to achieve results.

Lim Hee-jung added, "Even though I wasn't doing well and wasn't feeling well, I practiced hard without resting, thinking

that things would get better if I practiced hard, but that was also a bad choice."

As my performance worsened, I became afraid of playing in front of fans. The more I promised myself to do better, the

worse my performance became.

Lim Hee-jung spent a lot of time calming her mind.

"I thought a lot on my own. I met as few people as possible and spent time alone until I gained confidence in myself," said

Lim Hee-jung. "I decided to erase from my mind the times when I did well."

Instead of recalling the prime of her career and thinking about going back to that time, Lim Hee-jung explained, "I decided

to start over."

Even the swing changed.

With the new coach, I created a freer, more flexible swing that focuses only on the moment when the ball and club face

meet, rather than fixating on the path, rather than the mechanical swing of the past.

I also lost a lot of weight through systematic exercise. I lost more than 5 kg compared to the beginning of the season.

Lim Hee-jung cautiously expressed her confidence in her resurrection.

Lim Hee-jung, who said before the Yongpyong Open last month that she "had a feeling that I would do well," said, "I felt

like I was somewhat prepared to do well again like before."

Lim Hee-jung, who said that her performance, which was once less than 30% of her prime, has recently increased to close

to 70%, added, "In this tournament, my goal is to play with confidence in myself rather than to achieve results."

When asked, "What ranking do you have in mind for this competition?" Lim Hee-jung smiled brightly for the first time in

a while and said, "I will try to go as far as I can."