KLPGA star Hong Jun-min prepares for 2026 run in Portugal

Hong Jung-min competes at the OK Savings Bank OK Man Open at Adonis Country Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 13, 2025. [NEWS1]

 
PORTIMAO, Portugal — Every winter, KLPGA star Hong Jung-min heads to Portugal’s Algarve coast, where she trains in Portimao. Now spending her sixth offseason there, the reigning KLPGA money leader is laying the groundwork for another run in the 2026 season.
 
Hong’s winter base is Palmares Golf near Lagos, where the conditions — mild weather, demanding courses and affordable costs — have attracted her year after year. Im Young-hee, CEO of TY Sports International, is in Portugal coaching her.
 
“British golfers often train in Portugal during the winter,” Im said. “We’ve been running our camp here for 12 years because the conditions are ideal.”
 
Hong has competed in the PT Tour, a men’s competition in Portugal where golfers tune up in the offseason. While the tour is officially for men, women are welcome to enter — and Hong not only joins, she shines, once coming in second.
 
“The course was so long that I had to hit most of my second shots with a wood, so I focused on saving par and attacked the shorter holes where I could cut strokes,” Hong said. “The men, on the other hand, struggled on relatively narrow fairways and had trouble controlling backspin because the greens were soft.”
 
She noted that male players either praised her or found themselves rattled.
 

Hong Jung-min competes at the BC Card-Hankyung Ladies Cup at Fortune Hills Country Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 22, 2025. [YONHAP]

 
“Some gave me a thumbs-up,” she said. “Others struggled to keep up.”
 
Even when playing on slightly further tees, Hong has proven she belongs. This offseason, she finished fourth in another PT Tour event. Her best round during practice was 11 under par on Jan. 22.
 
Hong trains off the course as well. She runs 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) each day, walks every round pulling a trolley instead of riding in a cart and boosts her stamina by playing tennis.
 
“My stamina has definitely improved,” she said.
 
Hong’s ambition runs deep. In 2023, she attempted to qualify for both the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour, entering the Q-Series for each.
 
She managed to qualify for both tours, but only received conditional entry for a limited number of tournaments in both.
 
“My body started breaking down that summer,” Hong said. “I should’ve taken it easier, but I pushed through the Q-Series all the way to Morocco at the end of that year, and it wore me out.”
 
She eventually shelved plans to compete on both tours and returned to Korea.
 
Her first goal this season is to win the DB Group Korea Women’s Open Golf Championship — one of the KLPGA majors.
 
“I put myself in a strong position early at the 2023 Korean Women’s Open, but getting sick took me out of contention,” she said. “That still bothers me.”
 
“This year, I want to compete in majors like the U.S. Women’s Open and test myself at the highest level. I’ll also restart my plan to compete overseas.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SUNG HO-JUN [[email protected]]