6 Korean LPGA Golfers Start Club

Korean golf players, who are showing great performance in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, have recently formed an unofficial club called the “Golf Mania Group (GMG).” The president of the group is Se-ri Pak (Age 30, CJ) and other members are Sara Lee (28), Meena Lee (26, KTF), Jee-young Lee (22, Hi-mart), Sae-hee Son (22) and Sun-young Yoo (21, Huons).

These six players are neighbors who live in Orlando, Florida. At the beginning of the year, they got together and decided to make a group with the purpose of gathering to train together and acting as practice round partners for each other so that they can help each other improve their skills.

The group has even made a penalty fine system. The six players must pay fines according to the number of strokes they hit in practice rounds and their competitions, with first and second place finishers free from fines, third to fifth place finishers having to pay 10 dollars, and the sixth place finisher charged 20 dollars. During last week’s SBS Open, around 700 dollars were collected in fines. Fines that are saved up will be used for dining out together, and when it adds up to be a large amount, the group has agreed to spend it on good deeds by helping those in need. They have even made a sign for their club. The group has taken the first letter ‘G’ from the group name “GMG” and has inscribed the letter on a magnetic ball mark that they have secured to the hats they wear.

All six players took part in the LPGA Tour’s Fields Open in Hawaii that ended on February 25. The experienced players were able to save their faces with Jee-young Lee coming in second, and Se-ri Pak finishing tied for 14th place, while Sara Lee finished tied for 21st place. The group’s general manager Meena Lee and Sae-hee Son were disqualified in the preliminary rounds and paid fines.

Jee-young Lee, whose sociable personality has made her GMG’s public relations director, said, “Since we are competing with a set fine, it helps make me play more prudently during the practice rounds and this has helped in improving my concentration.”

kjs0123@donga.com