‘Super Rookie’ Yoo Hyun-jo Secures Rookie of the Year No.1 Early
Yoo In-na Challenges Grand Prize, Prize Money, and Lowest Average Score Titles
Park Hyun-kyung, Park Ji-young, Lee Ye-won, Bae So-hyun Each with 3 Wins
The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour is heading toward its final destination. On the 20th, the SangSangIn·Hankyung WowNet Open (total prize money 1.2 billion KRW) concluded at South Springs CC in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,634 yards). Now, only three tournaments remain: Deoksin EPC·Seoul Economic Ladies Classic (October 24?27), S-OIL Championship (October 31?November 3), and SK Telecom·SK Shielders Championship (November 8?10).
Some individual award winners have already been decided. The Rookie of the Year is one of them. The ‘super rookie’ Yoo Hyun-jo secured the Rookie of the Year title early. He added 78 rookie points by finishing tied for 32nd at the SangSangIn·Hankyung WowNet Open. With a total of 2,058 points, he confirmed first place ahead of time. The second place in rookie points, Lee Dong-eun, has 1,296 points, trailing Yoo Hyun-jo by 762 points. Even if Lee wins all remaining tournaments, he can only earn 730 rookie points, so he cannot surpass Yoo Hyun-jo.
Yoo Hyun-jo is a ‘top prospect’ who won a team silver medal and an individual bronze medal at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games. He has shown outstanding skills this year. Out of 25 tournaments this year, he missed the cut only once. He consistently performed well, finishing in the top 10 seven times. At the KB Financial Star Championship, a major tournament in September, he demonstrated his strength by claiming his first professional victory. Right after securing the Rookie of the Year, Yoo Hyun-jo said, “This is something I have dreamed of since the beginning of this year. I’m happy to have achieved one of my goals for this season. It still doesn’t feel real. I think it will sink in when I receive the award at the grand ceremony.”
Yoo Yi-na, who ranks first in prize money, grand prize, and average score, is aiming to become a multiple award winner. [Photo by KLPGA]
The competition for most wins, prize money, the Player of the Year, and scoring average is expected to continue until the final event. Whether Yoon Ina will become a multiple title winner is a point of interest. Park Hyun-kyung, Park Ji-young, Lee Ye-won, and Bae So-hyun each have three wins this year, sharing the top spot for most wins. In prize money, Yoon Ina ranks first (1,167.44 million KRW), Park Hyun-kyung second (1,102.76 million KRW), Park Ji-young third (1,078.98 million KRW), and Hwang Yu-min fourth (1,018.54 million KRW). All four have surpassed 1 billion KRW. The difference between first and fourth place in prize money is only 148.9 million KRW.
The most coveted title among players, the lowest scoring average, is fiercely contested by five players. Yoon Ina (70.0290 strokes), Park Ji-young (70.1594 strokes), Kim Su-ji (70.2639 strokes), Park Hyun-kyung (70.2727 strokes), and Noh Seung-hee (70.5435 strokes) occupy the first through fifth places. In Player of the Year points, it is a three-way battle among Yoon Ina (506 points), Park Hyun-kyung (487 points), and Park Ji-young (471 points).
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