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Sports Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Hyo Joo Kim Prepares to Defend Title at Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
By Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
Jan 24, 2017 - 8:02:53 PM

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Paradise Island, Bahamas – Hyo Joo Kim is excited to return to defend her title in the fifth edition of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, but the early-week windy conditions are giving her pause for concern as she gears up for the first event of the 2017 season on the LPGA.

Kim, 21, of Wonju, South Korea, fired a closing 7-under-par 66 at the Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis Resort last year to beat the 2015 champion, Sei Young Kim, Anna Nordqvist and Stacy Lewis by two strokes for her third LPGA title. Kim is coming off a win in December at the Hyundai China Ladies Open, her third victory in that event.

“It's great to be back since 2016, but there's a lot of wind these past few days, and so I came initially very happy to be coming to the Bahamas, and now I'm a little bit more anxious given the weather and the strong winds,” Kim said through an interpreter.

Kim began and ended her 2016 with victories. Consistent improvement is at the top of her list of things to accomplish this year, she said.

“My main goal is that from the start of the season to the finish of the season, I hope I'm able to demonstrate an upward trend in my performance,” said Kim, ranked No. 25 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. “It's a continuing development in my game throughout the season even more so than any specific win, it's that upward trend in my game that I like to see.”

Kim begins defense of her title at 7:49 a.m. Thursday off the No. 1 tee with Pernilla Lindberg of Sweden and Brittany Lincicome of Seminole, Fla.

In other news, Tuesday’s slate of events at the Ocean Club began with the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic Press Conference Powered By Aliv. The event was hosted by Jeff Raedle, Tournament Director, Principal – Global Golf Management, and it included Ellison Thompson Deputy Director General, Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Robbie Leming, general manager of Ocean Club, Alan Bates and Andre Knowles of Aliv and Cable Bahamas, Glenn Archer, president Bahamas Golf Federation, and Georgette Rolle, a Bahamas native who is competing for the fourth time in the event. Aliv is a new tournament partner for 2016.

“The Bahamas is really the home of tourism,” Ellison said. “We've worked really hard to get great events to the Islands of the Bahamas. This year we started off with the LPGA ladies tour tournament. Later this year we're also going to have the World Relays and also beach soccer in the Bahamas. And going on right now in the island of Abaco there's also the Great Abaco Classic. We have a number of golf tournaments going on in the Bahamas. Earlier this year we had the Great Exumas Classic, and the Hero [World Challenge] championship at Albany [in December].”

Leming said he expects great scoring this week on the par-73 Ocean Club Golf Course thanks to a favorable weather forecast that includes tapering winds and a course in first-rate condition.

“The good news is the forecast for the next five days is impeccable. The wind this afternoon is supposed to die down to about 15 to 18miles an hour and it gets lower as we move into the weekend. So, we're looking for some fantastic scores,” Leming said. “We're going to be looking at the best playing conditions that we've seen in five years. The golf course has peaked right at the right time. Our maintenance crew and our director of agronomy Jeff Hood, have done an amazing job prepping the golf course for the tournament but also picking up after Hurricane Matthew. We weren't hit extremely hard here at the golf course but we did have a lot of preparation to get this golf course in the shape that it's in. Like I said, it couldn't be in better shape. So we're really looking forward to competition.”

Also Tuesday, LPGA players Ally McDonald and Paula Reto greeted more than 60 boys and girls for the annual RBC Junior Clinic held on the driving range at the Ocean Club. The clinic is one of the pre-tournament highlights of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic that begins Thursday at the Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis Resort.
McDonald and Reto provided some individual and group instruction on several facets of the game and also signed autographs.

The fifth annual Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic is the opening event on the 2017 LPGA schedule. Offering a purse of $1.4 million, the tournament features 13 major champions and seven winners from the 2016 season. Four of the top 10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings are entered, led by No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn and No. 5 Lexi Thompson.

Golf Channel will provide 10 hours of live coverage beginning on Thursday, Jan. 26,from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. EST. Live second-round coverage on Friday, Jan. 27, also is 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., while live coverage of the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday will air 3-5 p.m. EST.

Admission is free for all spectators.

For more tournament information, contact the Tournament Office at +1 242 677 6470 or visit www.puresilkbahamasclassic.com.

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