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| ▲ In this Getty Images file photo from Sept. 13, 2020, Lee Mi-rim of South Korea holds the championship trophy after winning the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this Getty Images file photo from Sept. 13, 2020, Lee Mi-rim of South Korea (rear) and her caddie, Matt Glczis, celebrate Lee's victory at the ANA Inspiration inside Poppie's Pond, as per tradition for the tournament's champions, at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. (Yonhap) |
LPGA-major championship
Defending champion at LPGA season's 1st major driven by success
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- Whenever she hears the words "a major champion," they are music to the ears of Korean LPGA golfer Lee Mi-rim.
She loves the sound of those words so much that she now wants to keep winning majors.
Lee will be defending her title at the ANA Inspiration, the 2021 season's first LPGA major tournament starting Thursday (local time) in Rancho Mirage, California.
At last year's tournament, Lee chipped in for an eagle on the 72nd hole to set up a playoff and beat Brooke Henderson of Canada and Nelly Korda of the United States there for her maiden major championship.
"The feeling is really good to be able to hear those words being called a major champion, and it definitely gives me more motivation to win again," Lee said at her pretournament press conference Tuesday at Mission Hills Country Club. "For that reason, I'm looking forward to winning more, especially majors."
Lee said winning that major last year has been a huge confidence boost and added, "I'm able to bring myself back to those moments, and having won in that kind of situation, I can draw on those."
The ANA Inspiration is typically played around this time of year, but in 2020, it was pushed back to September due to effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
This year, the tournament is back to its usual slot of early April. Lee played the course earlier Tuesday and noticed some differences.
"I think that the conditions are a lot better right now, though, to be honest, than the fall," she said. "I think in the fall, even though the greens still played hard, (they) played harder than right now. I think that the greens are a little bit in better conditions overall right now."
This will be the tournament's 50th anniversary, and Lee said the occasion puts her in "a unique position."
"I'm looking forward to playing even a little bit more of a solid round and more professionally this week for my fans and all the viewers out there," she said.
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