Lucky No. 6: Lee Jeong-eun looks to build on success at Kroger Championship

The Kroger Queen City Championship tees off Thursday at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lee Jeong-eun6 looking to become the first Korean golfer to claim the title after missing her chance in the inaugural tournament last year

Lee Jeong-eun6 hits her shot from the 12th tee during the third round of the Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club on Saturday in Portland, Oregon. [AFP/YONHAP]

The Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G tees off Thursday at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lee Jeong-eun6 joining the field as she looks to become the first Korean golfer to claim the title after narrowly missing her chance in the inaugural tournament last year.

A total of 144 golfers will be competing in the Kroger Championship this year for a total purse of $2 million — a $250,000 increase from last year.

Lee managed the best finish by any Korean last year, coming in fourth place after recording eight more strokes than winner Ally Ewing of the United States. She holds the tournament record for a single round, recording a nine-under, 63, on the second round last year.

Lee has not come close to winning a title this season, failing to make the cut in seven out of 18 LPGA tournaments. Her best finish so far was tied for 16th at the AIG Women’s Open last month.

She will be the first Korean golfer to win a trophy this season after Ko Jin-young if she wins the Kroger. Lee has only secured one LPGA title so far, winning the U.S. Women’s Open — one of the majors — in June 2019.

Kim A-lim, who recorded the second-best finish among Korean golfers in the tournament last year by tying for fifth, will also be in the field.

The 27-year-old has been in solid form, having managed three top-10 finishes this season, although she tied for 40th at the AIG Women’s Open last month.

Defending champion Ewing will be in the field again this year, while countrywomen world No. 1 Lilia Vu and No. 2 Nelly Korda are skipping the event.

No. 3 Ko, the highest ranked Korean golfer on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, is also not taking part. She has secured two titles at the HSBC Women’s World Championships in March and the Cognizant Founders Cup in May, but skipped the last two events after finishing as a runner-up at the CPKC Women’s Open that ended on Aug. 27.

No. 5 Celine Boutier and No. 7 Kim Hyo-joo will also skip the tournament, which leaves two of the winningest golfers — Vu and Boutier — this season out of the competition. The two have claimed three titles each.

The remaining top-10 golfers — No. 4 Ruoning Yin, No. 6 Lydia Ko, No. 8 Allisen Corpuz, No. 9 Charley Hull and No. 10 Brooke Henderson — are all competing.

Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand will also join the field as she looks to ride her momentum from the Portland Classic last week, where she claimed her first-ever Tour title.

Alongside Lee Jeong-eun6 and Kim A-lim, 13 other Korean golfers will compete for the title: Choi Hye-jin, Kim Sei-young, An Na-rin, Amy Yang, Jenny Shin, Park Sung-hyun, Ryu Hae-ran, Jang Hyo-joon, Lee Mi-hyang, Joo Soo-bin, Lee Jeong-eun5, Hong Yae-eun and Lee Il-hee.

The LPGA tour will take place in the United States through September with an Asian swing starting with the Buick LPGA Shanghai teeing off on Oct. 12.

The tour will also visit Korea the following week, as the country hosts the BMW Ladies Championship in Paju, Gyeonggi.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]