Se-young Kim Wins by 3 Strokes "Two Wins Secured"... Tops Prize Money and Player of the Year (Summary)

Pelican Women's Championship: 12th Career Win, 3rd Most Wins Among Korean Players; McDonald 2nd, Ko Jin-young Tied 34th

Kim Sei-young is smiling while holding the trophy immediately after winning on the final day of the Pelican Women's Championship. Bel Air (Florida, USA) = Photo by Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] 'Major Queen' Kim Se-young (27, Mirae Asset) secures her second victory.

On the 23rd (Korean time), at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, USA (par 70, 6,268 yards), Kim Se-young finished the final day of the LPGA Tour Pelican Women's Championship (total prize money $1.5 million) with an even-par round to complete a 3-stroke victory (14-under 266). This marks her second win of the season and 12th career victory, just one month after winning her third major, the KPMG Women's Championship on the 12th of last month. The winner's prize money is $225,000 (2.5 billion KRW). This is the fifth win for Korean players this year.

Kim Se-young started with a 5-stroke lead and exchanged three birdies for three bogeys. After a birdie on the 1st hole was canceled out by a bogey on the 2nd hole, she made another birdie on the 6th hole (both par 4s), but lost strokes with a bogey on the 9th hole (par 3). On the back nine, she made a valuable birdie on the 14th hole (par 5) to pull away from her competitors. Along with Danielle Kang (USA), she became the second 'two-time winner' of the event, and jumped to first place in scoring average (68.11), earnings ($1,133,219), and Player of the Year points (106).

Kim Se-young debuted on the Korean LPGA (KLPGA) Tour in 2011, winning five times before joining the LPGA Tour in 2015. She is nicknamed the 'Queen of Comebacks' and the 'Wizard of Red Pants.' In her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, she won three times and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Last year, she notably won the Tour Championship, hitting the '1.5 million dollar (1.68 billion KRW) jackpot.' This year, she succeeded in her major breakthrough at the KPMG Women's Championship with a '28 attempts, 29th success' record.

Kim Se-young ranks third among Korean players in total wins, following Park Se-ri (43, retired, 25 wins) and Park In-bi (32, KB Financial Group, 20 wins). Shin Ji-ae (32, 11 wins) is fourth. She is also close to surpassing $10 million (9.799,895 million) in career earnings. This is her fourth season with multiple wins, following three wins in 2015, two in 2016, and three in 2019. She is the first player since Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) in 2016 to win a major and then immediately win the next tournament she entered.

"My shots were shaky, so it was tough," she said. "After being chased down to a 3-stroke lead on the 9th hole, I focused more and managed to win." Ally McDonald (USA), the Drive On Championship winner last month, reduced the gap by two strokes to finish second (11-under 269). Stephanie Meadow (Northern Ireland) finished third (9-under 271), Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and Austin Ernst tied for fourth (8-under 272), and Jessica Korda (USA) and Brooke Henderson (Canada) tied for sixth (7-under 273).

Korea's Park Hee-young (33, Isu Group), the ISPS Handa Big Open champion, tied for 15th (1-under 279), while Jeon In-ji (26, KB Financial Group) and Hur Mi-jung (31, Daebang Construction) tied for 20th (even par 280). No. 1 ranked Ko Jin-young (25), making her first appearance this year, made three birdies and four bogeys, finishing tied for 34th (3-over 283). Lee Jeong-eun 6 (24, Daebang Construction) tied for 42nd (5-over 285), and Park Sung-hyun (27) finished tied for 66th (11-over 291).