Closing of the First Half of the High1 Resort Women's Open on the 14th
Second Half Begins of the Jeju Samdasoo Masters on August 1
Yoo Nina and Park Hyunkyung in Great Form, Park Minji Sets New Record
The 2024 season of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour has reached its halfway point.
Yoo In-na is teeing off at the 2nd hole of the 4th round in the Hi One Resort Women's Open, the last tournament of the first half of the year. [Photo by KLPGA]
After the High1 Resort Ladies Open concluded on the 14th, the tour enters a 17-day break. The second half will kick off on August 1 with the Jeju Samdasoo Masters. The KLPGA Tour, which surpassed an average prize money of 1 billion KRW for the first time in domestic tour history, has produced various stories this year as well. Here are the 'Big 3' who shone in the first half of the season.
Yoo Ni-na's perfect comeback. After receiving a three-year suspension in June 2022 for the 'Ogu Play' incident at the Korean Women's Open, her suspension was reduced, and she made her return at the domestic season opener, the Doosan Construction We’ve Championship, in April. She demonstrated consistency by reaching the final rounds 11 times in 14 tournaments this year. She finished as runner-up three times and third once, placing in the 'Top 10' seven times in total. Although she has yet to win, she ranks 5th in prize money (551.43 million KRW), 4th in points for the Player of the Year (245 points), and 2nd in scoring average (70.03 strokes). With a powerful driving distance averaging 254.03 yards (3rd place), she is expected to announce a victory soon.
Park Hyun-kyung has rapidly emerged as a rival to Lee Ye-won. Both players have recorded three wins each. Park secured her first win of the season by narrowly defeating Lee Ye-won by one hole in the Doosan Match Play final in May. She then claimed a valuable victory at the BC Card-Hankyung Ladies Cup in June after a four-hole playoff. She added another playoff win at the McCol-Mona Yongpyong Open. This marked the first time in KLPGA Tour history that a player won back-to-back tournaments via playoffs and achieved her first three wins of the season. Attention is on whether Park Hyun-kyung’s momentum will continue into the second half.
Park Min-ji showed her record-breaking prowess. She completed a 'wire-to-wire' victory at the Celltrion Queens Masters in June. She set a historic record as the first player in KLPGA Tour history to win the same tournament four consecutive times. In May, at the E1 Charity Open, she earned 46.125 million KRW in prize money, bringing her total career earnings to 5.797783448 billion KRW. She surpassed Jang Ha-na, who had 5.70492684 billion KRW, to become the all-time leading money winner. By the end of the first half, she increased her total earnings to 6.069683448 billion KRW, becoming the first player in KLPGA Tour history to surpass 6 billion KRW in career prize money. Currently with 19 career wins, if Park adds two more victories in the second half, she will surpass the late Ku Ok-hee and Shin Ji-ae (both with 20 wins) to become the all-time leader in wins.
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