Gwack Bomi '85 Jeon 86 Gi'... "Even Luck on the Cart Road"

Kyochon Honey Ladies Open Final Day 3 Under Par, Ji Hansol 2nd, Lim Heejeong and Jeon Woori Tied 3rd, Choi Hyejin Tied 7th

Gwak Bomi is holding the trophy and posing for a commemorative photo immediately after winning the Kyochon Honey Ladies Open. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kwak Bo-mi (29, High1 Resort) is on her ‘85th attempt, 86th game’.

On the 9th, at the West-South Course (par 72, 6,650 yards) of Island Golf Course in Daebu-do, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, she finished the final day of the KLPGA Tour Kyochon Honey Ladies Open (total prize money 600 million won) with a 3-under-par round, securing a one-stroke victory (9-under-par 207). Turning professional in 2010 and joining the regular tour in 2012, this was her first career win after 86 tournaments. She received 108 million won in prize money and a two-year first division tour card.

Kwak Bo-mi started with a one-stroke lead and recorded three birdies without any bogeys. She energized the game with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on holes 4 to 6, and made another birdie on the 10th hole (par 4), preventing competitors from catching up. On the 18th hole (par 5), luck was on her side. Her tee shot hit the cart path and rolled 290 meters, and her third shot near the green hit the lip of a bunker in front of the rough and landed on the green. She calmly finished with ‘3-on 2-putt’ and shed tears.

Kwak Bo-mi is the longest hitter on this year’s KLPGA Tour with an average driving distance of 264.55 yards. Although she has won three times on the Dream (2nd division) Tour, she had not won on the regular tour before. Her best personal result was runner-up at the Moon Young Queens Park Championship in July 2019. “I’m so nervous that I can’t think of anything,” said Kwak Bo-mi. “Since my results were not good, I entered the tournament with the thought of playing for one more year. Now I can focus solely on training without worrying about my tour card,” she cheered.

Ji Han-sol (25, Dongbu Construction) performed well by lowering her score by three strokes but was satisfied with second place (8-under-par 208). Lim Hee-jung (21, Korea Land Trust) and Jeon Woo-ri (24, DB Insurance) tied for third place (6-under-par 210). Choi Hye-jin (22, Lotte) struggled with a 1-over-par round and dropped to a tie for seventh place (4-under-par 212). Park Hyun-kyung (21, Korea Land Trust) tied for 10th place (3-under-par 213), and Park Min-ji (23, NH Investment & Securities) and Lee So-mi (22, SBI Savings Bank) tied for 13th place (2-under-par 214).