*This content was translated by AI.
After a painful rookie season, Yoon Ee-na (23, Solare) is showing a completely different side in her second year.
On the 27th (Korea time), Yoon Ee-na shot a 4-under-par 68 with seven birdies and three bogeys in the final round of the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA Tour season (total purse $9 million), held at the Memorial Park Golf Course (par 72) in Houston, Texas.
Finishing with a total of 12-under-par 276, Yoon Ee-na tied with China's Liu Yan for a shared fourth-place finish.
While there was a significant gap to Nelly Koda (28, USA), who claimed the title with 18-under-par 270, she was just one stroke behind the co-second-place finishers, China's Yin Ruoning and Thailand's Pattaya Tavanakit (both 13-under-par 275).
After winning the triple crown on the KLPGA Tour, Yoon Ee-na joined the LPGA Tour last year but managed to finish in the top 10 only once, leaving an overall impression of disappointment.
Has she finally adapted? She has been soaring from the start of this year. After struggling in the first three tournaments of the season, Yoon Ee-na tied for sixth at the Ford Championship on the 27th of last month and finished solo fourth at the JM Eagle LA Championship on the 17th, marking her third top-10 finish of the season.
This is her first top-10 finish in a major tournament. Her best result last year was a shared 14th place at the U.S. Women's Open.
Yoon Ee-na started with her first birdie on the 3rd hole (par 5) and climbed the leaderboard with three consecutive birdies on the 4th and 5th holes (both par 4). She continued her strong momentum by reducing her score by one stroke on the 8th hole (par 5).
She faltered in the back nine. Conceding three consecutive bogeys from the 11th hole (par 3) to the 13th hole (par 4), she dropped down the leaderboard.
She did not collapse. Yoon Ee-na broke the poor streak with a birdie on the 14th hole (par 5) and gained momentum again with another birdie on the 15th hole (par 3). She secured another birdie on the final 18th hole (par 4) to finish the tournament in shared fourth place.
The victory belonged to Koda. She never relinquished the lead from the first day of the tournament, securing a wire-to-wire win. She also took home the $1.2 million (approximately 1.764 billion won) first-place prize.
Koda, who returned to the top of this tournament for the second time since 2024, added her third major title with the 2021 Women's PGA Championship, bringing her career total to 17 victories.
Following her win at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Koda recorded her second victory of the season, joining Kim Hyo-joo (31, Lotte) and Hannah Green (Australia) as the season's multiple winners.
She also secured her return to the world number one ranking. Koda, who lost the top spot to Thailand's Jin Teetikan in August last year, reclaimed the number one position after eight months. Teetikan missed the cut in this tournament.
Kim Hyo-joo also shot a 3-under-par 69 with one eagle, three birdies, and two bogeys on the final day, finishing with a total of 7-under-par 281, climbing 10 spots from the previous day to finish solo sixth.
Yoo Hae-ran (25, Daol Financial Group) and Hwang Yu-min (23, Lotte) finished with a shared 12th place at 4-under-par 284, narrowly missing the top 10.
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*This content was translated by AI.
