"I thought I might have to give up golf," Go Ji-woo, who cried over her injury, completed a perfect wire-to-wire victory [KLPGA]

*This content was translated by AI.

Go Ji-woo (24, Samcheonri) overcame early-season struggles and secured a victory with a flawless performance.

On the 12th, in the final fourth round of the KLPGA Tour High1 Resort Women's Open held at High1 Resort Country Club (par 73) in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, Go recorded two bogeys without any birdies, finishing with a 2-over-par 75.

Despite this, she finished with a total of 22-under-par 270 strokes, overtaking Park Hye-jun (Doosan Construction Weve) and Sung Yu-jin (Daebang Construction), who tied for second place at 17-under-par 275, by five strokes to claim the title.

After joining the KLPGA Tour in 2021, Go secured three victories: the McColl·Mona Yongpyong Open in 2023, the High1 Resort Women's Open in 2024, and last year's McColl·Mona Yongpyong Open. This season, she participated in 11 tournaments but missed the cut five times, reaching the top 10 only twice.

Although Go missed the cut at the most recent Lotte Open, she soared from the first day of this tournament. Starting tied for first with nine birdies and no bogeys, she made one bogey in the second round but added seven more birdies to take sole possession of the lead.

She secured the victory early in the third round. Including a hole-in-one on the 2nd hole (par 4), she recorded eight birdies and one bogey, reducing her score by nine strokes to enter the final round with an eight-stroke lead over second place.

Although she lost one stroke each on the 2nd and 4th holes (par 5), she maintained her score thereafter, finishing with four strokes better than that day alone to overtake Park Hye-jun and Sung Yu-jin, who were aggressively chasing, and claim the top spot.

She never relinquished the lead from the first round, securing her first victory of the season and fourth career title with a wire-to-wire performance.

By winning this tournament again after 2024, Go strengthened her positive memories at High1 Resort. Adding the winner's prize of 180 million won to her season earnings, she reached 296.883333 million won, jumping 28 spots to rank 16th. Her cumulative earnings totaled 2.036199296 billion won.

According to the KLPGA Tour, Go stated in her post-victory press conference: "I am truly happy. Due to a finger injury in the second half of last year, I couldn't practice much and even considered giving up golf. Winning this time makes me so glad." She added, "Experiencing an injury made me realize that competing and practicing as a golfer is not something everyone is naturally granted. My finger injury may have turned out to be a good sign for me. Although things didn't go as well as I hoped early this season, it wasn't in vain. I feel mentally stronger now, and I am happy to receive the gift of victory."

Despite ups and downs following her injury, she bounced back with a victory at the final tournament of the first half. Go remarked, "After winning, my results have often been poor. The second half of this year will be a challenge for me." She continued, "Rather than focusing on immediate results, I want to concentrate on improving my own golf. If I do that, the results should follow."

She did not feel she needed to hold her score steady consistently. Nevertheless, the game did not go as smoothly as she wished. Go said, "The hardest holes were difficult to birdie, and nothing went well on every hole. However, since I came into this tournament with a clear mind, I thought this level was acceptable and decided not to be greedy. I will practice more to address my shortcomings in the future."

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*This content was translated by AI.