'From Rookie of the Year to Grand Prize': Yoo Hyun-jo felt the pressure, becomes the inaugural champion of the 'DB Women's Championship' with the thought, "Let's play golf happily and enjoy it" [KLPGA]

*This content was translated by AI.

Yoo Hyun-jo (21, Lotte), who won the Rookie of the Year award in her debut season and received the WeMade Grand Prize at the KLPGA Tour last year, has become the inaugural queen of the DB Women's Championship (total prize money 1.2 billion won).

On the 3rd, Yoo Hyun-jo shot an even-par 72 with two birdies and two bogeys in the final fourth round of the tournament held at RAINBOW Hills Country Club (par 72) in Eumseong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do.

Finishing with a total of 7-under-par 281, Yoo Hyun-jo claimed the title by one stroke ahead of the co-second-place finishers Go Ji-won, Kim Min-sol, and Lee Da-yeon, who finished at 6-under-par 282. She secured the winning prize of 216 million won.

Yoo Hyun-jo joined the KLPGA Tour in 2023 and won the Rookie of the Year award the following year, highlighted by one victory and nine top-10 finishes. Last year, she won the WeMade Grand Prize by accumulating the most points, including a win at the KB Financial Star Championship, three runner-up finishes, three third-place finishes, and 19 top-10 finishes. She also ranked first in average strokes (69.94).

With no second-year jinx, her momentum at the start of this season was disappointing. She failed to reach the top 10 at the Rejuvan Championship (co-37th), The Siena Open (co-26th), and iM Financial Open (co-27th), and missed the cut at the Nexen·Saint Nine Masters.

However, Yoo Hyun-jo, who boosted her momentum with a co-third-place finish at the Deokshin EPC Championship at the end of last month, made a breakthrough in this tournament.

Finishing the third round in second place, Yoo Hyun-jo held par until the 6th hole (par 3) despite the rainy weather, then birdied the 7th hole (par 5). She reduced her score by one stroke at the 11th hole (par 3), but stumbled with consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes (par 4).

However, Go Ji-won (Samchully), who started in first place, lost two strokes and stumbled, while Kim Min-sol (Doosan Construction We've), who was in third place the previous day, finished at even-par, allowing Yoo Hyun-jo to ultimately take the top spot and celebrate her victory.

Yoo Hyun-jo said, "I am truly happy to become the inaugural champion of the DB Women's Championship. It was a somewhat difficult time at the start of the season, and I feel rewarded by this victory. I was caught up in the pressure to perform better than last year and the thought of reducing mistakes. But I realized that the gallery enjoys watching Yoo Hyun-jo play with a smile. So I resolved to play golf happily and enjoy it."

The burden was heavy. Yoo Hyun-jo added, "I moved to a new sponsor (Lotte Golf Team) and wanted to show good form quickly. Since there are so many outstanding seniors and teammates, I think I felt a strong desire to quickly do my part. I believe a victory today makes multiple wins possible. I want to be the wins champion, but I don't want to rush the game for that. I plan to play and enjoy the game like in this tournament."

'Rookie' Kim Min-sol, who leads the Rookie of the Year points with a win at the iM Financial Open, unfortunately missed the title but maintained first place in both the Grand Prize points (143) and prize money (354.153333 million won).

Park Ju-young, Kim Soo-ji, and Han Jin-seon finished in co-fifth place (5-under-par 283), Lee Seung-yeon and Patcharapong Kongkrab (Thailand) finished in co-eighth place (3-under-par 285), and Park Hye-jun finished in 10th place (2-under-par 286).

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*This content was translated by AI.