A Dominant Victory by Four Shots with a Final Round 1-Under Par
Leads Player of the Year Points and Average Strokes, Rises to Third in Money Rankings
Runner-up No Seunghee Becomes First Player to Surpass 1 Billion Won This Year
Second-year player Yoo Hyunjo has achieved back-to-back victories at a major tournament.
On September 7, at Blackstone Icheon Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,718 yards), Yoo Hyunjo shot a 1-under-par 71 in the fourth round of the KB Financial Star Championship, a major event on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour with a total prize of 1.5 billion won. With a total score of 9-under-par 279, Yoo claimed the championship for the second consecutive year, finishing four strokes ahead of runner-up No Seunghee (5-under-par 283).
After winning this tournament last year and paving the way for her Rookie of the Year title, Yoo Hyunjo also secured her second career win at the same major event. Yoo is the first rookie in KLPGA Tour history to win a major tournament and then defend her title at the same event the following year. Additionally, Yoo is the first player in eight years to win this tournament two years in a row, following Kim Haelim, who did so in 2016 and 2017.
Yoo Hyunjo is taking a commemorative photo with his parents after achieving back-to-back wins at the KB Financial Star Championship. Photo by KLPGA
Across all major tournaments, this marks the first instance in approximately four years of a player winning the same major event in consecutive years, following Park Hyunkyung at the 2021 KLPGA Championship. Yoo Hyunjo is now the fourth player to achieve two victories at the KB Financial Star Championship, joining Kim Haelim, Kim Hyojoo (2014, 2020), and Jang Hana (2012, 2021).
Yoo Hyunjo added 100 points to her Player of the Year ranking, moving into first place in this category with 482 points. She also earned a winner's prize of 270 million won, jumping to third place on the money list with a total of 983.33 million won. She currently leads the scoring average as well, with 69.71 strokes.
Starting the final round with a one-shot lead, Yoo Hyunjo recorded three birdies and two bogeys. She made par on the first six holes, but bogeys on holes 7 and 11 narrowed her lead over second place to just one stroke. Consecutive birdies on holes 12 and 13 helped her recover, and she celebrated her victory with a birdie on the final 18th hole (par 5).
Hyunjo Yoo is being showered with water by his teammates in celebration of his consecutive second victory at the KB Financial Star Championship. Photo by KLPGA
In her post-victory interview, Yoo Hyunjo said, "I wasn't very nervous when I won last year, but this year was different. Today, things didn't go as I planned, so it was tough, but the consecutive birdies brought a good result." She added, "I want to achieve a good result at the remaining major, the Hite Jinro Championship. This year, I want to win the Player of the Year award, and someday, I hope to join the LPGA Tour."
No Seunghee reduced her score by two strokes to claim the runner-up position. With the second-place prize of 165 million won, she became the first player this season to surpass 1 billion won (1.08769 billion won) in earnings. After winning The Heaven Masters in June, she has finished runner-up four times this season-at the Lotte Open, Jeju Samdasoo Masters, BC Card-Hankyung Ladies Cup, and now this tournament-putting her at the top of the money list. Park Kyul, Jeon Yesung, and Lee Jaeyoon finished tied for third (4-under-par 284), while Park Hyunkyung, Kim Minsol, Bang Shinsil, Lee Gayoung, and Choi Eunwoo tied for sixth (3-under-par 285).
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
