LPGA stars Park In-bee and Ryu So-yeon of South Korea will play a virtual match-play event Monday against New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg, the tour announced Wednesday.
The GOLFZON LPGA Match Play Challenge will feature the South Koreans competing in the 36-hole simulated online event from Daejeon, South Korea, while Ko and Lindberg compete from the World Golf Hall of Fame at St. Augustine, Florida.
The event features an 18-hole foursomes match followed by an 18-hole four-ball match played over a virtual version of the layout at Bethpage Black, where Americans Tiger Woods, Lucas Glover and Brooks Koepka have won major titles.
The winners receive a $10,000 donation to their selected coronavirus relief charity.
The LPGA season shut down in February after playing only four events, two in Florida and two in Australia, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since the LPGA Tour stopped due to COVID-19, it’s amazing that real-time match play is possible with our fellow players in other parts of the world,” seven-time major winner Park said. “I can’t wait to entertain golf fans all over the globe through this match.”
Reigning Olympic champion Park, ranked 11th in the world, won her 20th career LPGA title in February at the Women’s Australian Open at Royal Adelaide in the last event before the season was halted.
Two-time major winner Ryu, ranked 18th, has taken six LPGA titles, most recently in 2018.
Lindberg’s lone LPGA victory came at the 2018 ANA Inspiration, when she birdied the eighth playoff hole to defeat Park for her first major title.
Two-time major champion Ko, ranked 49th, has 15 LPGA titles, the most recent in 2018. (AFP)
