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"Tears from the first hole on the first day"

South Korea golf team member Ko Jin-young enters the first round of women's golf at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France on the afternoon of the 7th (Korean time).

Kim Joo-hyung (22, Nike Golf), who finished 8th in the men's golf at the 2024 Paris Olympics that ended on the 4th (Korean time), shed tears. He said, "I really wanted to win a medal representing my country," and "I understand why Son Heung-min cried after the national team game."

Ko Jin-young (29, Solair), a member of the women's national golf team, also deeply sympathized with Kim Joo-hyung's tears. Even though this was her second Olympics, Ko Jin-young said, "I cried when I was introduced on the first hole in the first round."

Ko Jin-young recorded 4 birdies, 3 bogeys, and 1 double bogey in the first round of the women's golf tournament held at Le Golf National (par 72) in Guyancourt, France on the 7th, recording a 1-over-par 73, starting off tied for 26th place out of 60 players.

This is Ko Jin-young’s second Olympics. She previously competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics three years ago, where she tied for ninth place.

Although it was something she had already experienced, she said that the weight of wearing the Taegeuk mark again after three years is still the same. She explained that she had a hard time holding back tears when introducing her name on the first hole.

She said, “Usually, I play on the LPGA Tour wearing clothes that have a number of wins and many sponsors written on them, but it’s completely different when I play with the Taegeukgi,” and “Here, I just think that I have to do better because I’m a player representing Korea.”

She said that she fully understood the tears that Kim Joo-hyung, who is usually a close friend, shed after the match. Ko Jin-young said, “I saw (Kim) Joo-hyung sobbing towards the end,” and “I wanted to comfort him because I knew how he felt.” However, she quickly returned to her original self after the match. Ko Jin-young said, “After the match, I had a meal with the male players, and he ate well as if he had never cried before,” and laughed, “I thought his spirit was great.” Ko Jin-young, who fully understands Kim Joo-hyung’s feelings, also prepared a lot for this Olympics. She explained, “I changed my iron shaft and putter,” and “I changed my iron to a lighter one because I am older now, and I went back to the putter that I used when I was 18 and debuted as a pro until my early 20s.” In particular, Ko Jin-young used the putter when she was an amateur and a member of the national team. He said, “I suddenly saw the putter I used when I was putting the best at it at home,” and smiled, “Actually, since I debuted as a pro, I have had many opportunities to use various types of putters, so I ‘betrayed’ that putter, but I found it again.” He added, “I didn’t see the effect of changing the iron shaft in the first round, but the putter did its job well,” and expressed satisfaction.

Ko Jin-young, who endured the first round despite not being in perfect condition, is determined to focus on each hole in the remaining rounds and look for opportunities.

He emphasized, “Anyway, I have to do my best in my current situation,” and “I have to not lose focus on any hole because the course is difficult.”