The 1st hole (par 5) of Blackstone GC (par 72) in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do at 11 am on the 15th. It’s not a time when galleries are usually crowded, but this day was different. The cloud gallery was crowded. It was a crowd to see Jeon In-ji (28, photo), the ‘major queen’ who participated in the KB Financial Star Championship in the opening match of the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Korean Tour.
Members of ‘Flying Dumbo’, who used Jeon In-ji’s nickname as the name of their fan club, came out with various items expressing the baby elephant ‘Dumbo’. Fans waited for Jeon In-ji’s tee shot with eyes full of anticipation. As Jeon In-ji blew a powerful tee shot, shouts of “Good shot!” filled the 1st hole.
According to the organizers of the competition, as of 4 pm on the same day, 1821 galleries visited the venue. Considering that it was held on a weekday, Thursday, this is an unusually large number. Jeon In-ji was the first contributor to collecting the gallery. He is considered one of the best players in women’s golf in Korea. When she was active on her domestic tour, she dragged a cloud crowd at every competition. She is also known for driving local fans on the US Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour. Before the Corona 19, when overseas travel was free, the ‘Flying Dumbo’ members went to the away support, so the relationship with the fans was tight.
It is the first time in three years that fans have seen Jeon In-ji’s match on the field. This is because Jeon In-ji participated in the KB Financial Star Championship for the past two years, but it was held without spectators due to the corona virus. In the US competition, admission to the gallery was allowed since last year, but group support was also suspended due to restrictions on overseas travel. A member of ‘Flying Dumbo’ said, “It’s been 3 years since I’ve seen Jeon In-ji’s match in person,” and expressed his emotion with emotion.
Organizational support also drew attention. From the tee shot to the second shot and putt of Jeon In-ji, they held their breath and cheered for Jeon In-ji. Afterwards, when one of the fans chanted “Jeon-in!” while hole-out, the others responded by shouting “Fighting!”.
Jeon In-ji, who has been facing domestic fans for a long time, showed off her unique bright smile and enjoyed meeting with fans. Each time she holed out, she bowed to the fans and made eye contact one by one. He finished the first round with a 1 over par and tied for 12th (as of 5 p.m.). It is 4 strokes behind the lead. In the first half, he continued an even par with one birdie and one bogey, but the third shot on the 18th hole (par 5) went deep into the rough and the game ended with one more loss lost.
In the first round of the day, Minji Park (24) and Jungmin Hong (20), two KLPGA Tour powerhouses, who achieved three wins this season, jointly took the lead with 2 under par.
Reporter Jo Soo-young delinews@hankyung.com