Defeating Ko Jin-young at the Newly Established FM Championship
Winner's Prize $570,000, Second Korean Victory This Year
Ko Jin-young's Second Runner-up, Lee So-mi 15th Place
‘LPGA Rookie of the Year’ Yu Hae-ran emerged as the inaugural champion.
Yoo Hae-ran is reading the putting line on the 12th hole of the 4th round of the FM Championship. [Norton (USA)=AFP·Yonhap News]
On the 1st (local time) at TPC Boston (par 72, 6,598 yards) in Norton, Massachusetts, USA, the newly established LPGA Tour event FM Championship (total prize money $3.8 million) concluded with Yu shooting an 8-under 64 in the 4th round to tie with Ko Jin-young at 15-under 273. Then, on the first hole of the playoff resumed at the 18th hole (par 5), she secured the winning par. This marks her second career victory, about a year after her first win at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last October. The winner’s prize money is $570,000 (approximately 760 million KRW). This is Korea’s second win this year following Yang Hee-young’s victory at the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June.
Yu Hae-ran started from a tie for 6th place, 4 strokes behind, and racked up 9 birdies (1 bogey). She gained momentum with 4 consecutive birdies from holes 1 to 4, then made ‘two pairs of stepping-stone birdies’ at holes 6 and 8, and again at holes 10 and 12. After a birdie on the 15th hole (par 4), she lost one stroke with a bogey on the 16th hole (par 3), finishing the remaining 2 holes with pars. In the first playoff, she safely reached the green in 3 shots and secured par with 2 putts to confirm her victory. Her accuracy stood out as she missed the fairway only 4 times and the green only 3 times. She recorded 26 putts in the round.
Yu Hae-ran is the player who made a surprise win as an invited player at the 2019 KLPGA Tour Jeju Samdasoo Masters. She quickly earned a regular tour card and won once in 2020, claiming the Rookie of the Year title. After accumulating 5 career wins, she topped the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series in December 2022 and advanced to the U.S. stage. Including last year’s win, she made six top-10 finishes and was named ‘Rookie of the Year.’ In a post-victory interview, Yu said, "After struggling with 6-over in the 3rd round, I reviewed my swing with my coach. I think today I won thanks to my good fade shot, which is my natural shot shape," expressing her joy.
Ko Jin-young is teeing off at the 1st hole of the 4th round of the FM Championship. [Norton (USA)=AP·Yonhap News]
Ko Jin-young, who led by 2 strokes the previous day, shot 4-under 68 but fell to 2nd place. She failed to capture her 16th career win after 1 year and 4 months since winning the Cognizant Founders Cup last May. Liu Ruixin (China) finished 3rd (14-under 274), while Allison Koepka (USA) and Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) tied for 4th (13-under 275). Korea concluded the tournament with Lee So-mi tied for 15th (7-under 281), Yang Hee-young and Choi Hye-jin tied for 25th (5-under 283), and Lim Jin-hee and Lee Jeong-eun 6 tied for 30th (4-under 284).
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