Korean-Australian Grace Kim placed 2nd in LPGA Lotte Championship,
won the championship
‘Defending Champ’ Kim Hyo-joo tied for 48th place
Eugene Seong (23, Hanwha Q CELLS), who plays on the Korea Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour, participated as an invited player US Women’s Professional Golfer At the (LPGA) Tour Lotte Championship, she unfortunately missed out on winning after an extended playoff. Korean-Australian Grace Kim won her third LPGA Tour debut.
On the 16th, Eugene Sung hit a 3 under par 69 in the final 4th round of the tournament held at Hoakalay Country Club (par 72, 6303 yards) in Eva Beach, Oahu Island, USA. Seong Yu-jin, who scored a final total of 12 under par 276, tied with Grace Kim and Liu Yu (China), giving the victory to Grace Kim who made a birdie in the first overtime match.바카라사이트
Seong Yu-jin won the KLPGA Tour Lotte Open last year and qualified for the invitational player in this tournament. It was her first win on the KLPGA Tour, four years after her debut. Although she was an invited player, she tied for the lead in the second round and led alone with a 9 under par 207 after the third round, raising expectations for the championship.
If Seong Yu-jin had won, she could have become the ‘non-member champion’ of the LPGA Tour event in eight months since Maya Stark (Sweden) of the ISPS Handa World Invitational in August last year. Among Korean players, the most recent non-member champion is Kim A-rim (28, Hanwha Q Cells), who won the 2000 US Women’s Open. In addition, she was able to become the first ‘invited player winner’ in about 10 years since Lydia Ko (New Zealand) at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in August 2013.
However, Seong Yu-jin’s iron shot on the day was somewhat sluggish, and while Liu Yue cut 8 strokes that day alone, finished the game with 12 under par and became the first to wait. Sung Yu-jin and Grace Kim entered the 18th hole with a tie for second place by one stroke, and both players made birdies side by side, and the match went into overtime for the three players.
The overtime match ended earlier than expected. In the first extension from the 18th hole, all three players failed to get the ball on the green, so they continued their third shot from the surrounding rough, and Grace Kim, who sent the third shot closest, became the main character of the victory with the only birdie. Ryu Wi recorded a par, and Seong Yu-jin recorded a bogey as his third shot went over the green and landed in the rough on the other side.
Grace Kim, who is the same age as Eugene Sung, was born in 2000 and ranked 5th in prize money in the Epson Tour, the second division of the LPGA last year. This is her third appearance on the LPGA Tour. Grace Kim was the first rookie to win the LPGA this season.
Last year’s winner Kim Hyo-joo (28, Lotte) was unable to reduce the number of strokes in the final round and tied for 48th place (1 over par 289 strokes).
KLPGA Tour rookie Hwang Yoo-min (20, Lotte), who participated in this tournament at the invitation of a sponsor, performed well with a tie for 9th place (8 under par, 280 strokes), and Choi Hye-jin (24, Lotte) tied for 13th place (6 under par, 282 strokes). .