Bae Sohyun Becomes First Champion in Her 30s This Season

Four Career Wins at Aurora World Ladies Championship
Veteran Power at 32 with a 5-Under Surge
Sung Yujin and Ko Jiwon Tie for Second, Lee Yewon Ties for Fifth

Bae Sohyun, born in 1993, became the first champion in her 30s in the 2025 season.

On August 3, at Aurora Golf & Resort (par 72, 6,509 yards) in Wonju, Gangwon Province, she shot a 5-under-par 67 in the final round of the KLPGA Tour Aurora World Ladies Championship (total prize money: 1 billion won), winning by one stroke with a total of 19-under-par 269. She became the inaugural champion of this newly established tournament and received a winner's prize of 180 million won.

Bae Sohyun is putting on the 9th hole of the 4th round at the Aurora World Ladies Championship. Photo by KLPGA

Bae Sohyun, who won three times last year, claimed her first victory of the year, bringing her career total to four wins. This was her first win in 11 months since the 13th KG Ladies Open in September last year. She is the first player in her 30s to win on the KLPGA Tour this year. The most recent KLPGA Tour champion in her 30s was also Bae Sohyun in September last year.

Bae Sohyun was tied for second place, one stroke behind the leader after three rounds. On this day, she delivered a flawless performance with five birdies and no bogeys. She took the lead with consecutive birdies on the 7th and 8th holes, then battled for the win against Sung Yujin, and secured back-to-back birdies again on the 14th and 15th holes. On the final 18th hole (par 4), she calmly sank a par putt from just under two meters to maintain her one-stroke victory.

In a post-victory interview, Bae Sohyun said, "I'm happy to have achieved my long-awaited first win of the season," and added, "Thanks to missing a short putt yesterday, I was able to avoid making a mistake on the final hole's par putt today." Sung Yujin and Ko Jiwon tied for second place (18-under-par 270). Kim Suji finished fourth (16-under-par 272), while Lee Yewon, who leads both the money list and the Player of the Year points this year, tied for fifth (15-under-par 273) along with Noh Seunghee and Park Jiyoung.