Who among the A Group players will have the misfortune of drawing standout rookie Kim Min-sol?
That was likely the question drawing the most attention during the group draw for this year's Doosan Match Play Championship. Such is the magnitude of Kim's impact as a rookie this year. Already a winner once this season and currently ranked second on the prize money and Player of the Year points lists, the long-hitting Kim was one of the championship favorites that no one wanted to face.
The draw was conducted with the 16 A Group players, comprised of last year's top-16 money list finishers, selecting the remaining three players for their groups. The A Group player who drew Kim Min-sol's name was none other than fellow long hitter Bang Shin-sil. The group featuring Bang and Kim also includes long hitter Moon Jung-min and the recently surging Kim Ji-soo, making it a "group of death." In this year's driving distance rankings, Kim Min-sol ranks second at 258.59 yards, Moon fifth at 253.14 yards, and Bang sixth at 251.55 yards, in a tight cluster. What makes it even more intriguing is that all four players finished in the upper reaches of last week's NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship. Bang, Moon, and Kim Ji-soo all tied for fourth, while Kim Min-sol also posted a solid tied-12th finish.
But match play is a stage where upsets frequently unfold. That, after all, is the very charm of match play.
This year's tournament, to be held for five days starting October 13 at Ladena Golf Club in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, features an unusually high number of "groups of death." Since only the top finisher from each group advances to the round of 16, a significant number of upset eliminations are expected.
The A Group for this tournament includes last year's champion Lee Ye-won, along with Hong Jung-min, Noh Seung-hee, Yu Hyun-jo, Bang Shin-sil, Sung Yu-jin, Lee Ga-young, Park Hye-jun, Go Ji-won, Kim Min-sun7, Go Ji-woo, Jung Yoon-ji, Park Hyun-kyung, Park Joo-young, Lim Hee-jung, and Kim Min-ju. Kim Min-ju, last year's No. 20 on the money list, grabbed the final A Group spot.
However, among this year's top 20 in prize money, as many as 11 players are not in the A Group. Any group containing these players can be considered a group of death. They include money list No. 2 Kim Min-sol, No. 5 Jeon Ye-seong, No. 6 Lim Jin-young, No. 8 Kim Si-hyun, No. 11 Seo Gyo-rim, No. 12 Kim Jae-hee, No. 13 Ahn Ji-hyun, No. 16 Han Jin-seon, No. 17 Yang Hyo-jin, No. 18 Yu Seo-yeon2, and No. 20 Patcharajutar Kongkraphan of Thailand.
The group of "Jung Yoon-ji vs. Kim Jae-hee vs. Seo Gyo-rim vs. Hyun Se-rin" and the group of "Lim Hee-jung vs. Yang Hyo-jin vs. Bae So-hyun vs. Lim Jin-young" are also groups of death where it is impossible to predict who will advance to the round of 16.
In contrast, Lee Ye-won, grouped with Lee Se-hee, Kim Woo-jung, and Lee Chae-eun2, and Yu Hyun-jo, who drew Jo Hye-rim, Park Gyeol, and Li Xuying of China into her group, are considered to have drawn relatively comfortable opponents. Park Hyun-kyung, who will play group-stage matches against Jung So-i, Shin Da-in, and Seo Eo-jin, also had a fortunate draw.
