From Rookie of the Year to Player of the Year: Yoo Hyun-jo achieves first multi-win season in her third year, securing career-high fourth victory at HJ Heavy Industries and Dongbu Construction Championship [KLPGA]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Yoo Hyun-jo (21, Lotte), who has shown a growth trend every season, finally achieved multiple wins in her third season on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour.

In the final fourth round of the HJ Heavy Industries and Dongbu Construction Championship (total prize money 1 billion won) held on the 11th at Ace One Country Club (par 72) in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Yoo Hyun-jo recorded four birdies and two bogeys to add six points.

With a final total of 52 points, she claimed the top spot by defeating An Ji-hyun (Mediheal) and Kim Min-sun 7 (Daewon Construction, both with 51 points) by one point.

This tournament was conducted in a modified Stableford format rather than standard stroke play. An albatross earned eight points, an eagle five points, and a birdie two points; par was zero points, a bogey minus one point, and double bogey or worse three points.

Yoo Hyun-jo, who started in a tie for 12th place with 12 points in the first round, jumped to sole lead by adding 22 points in the second round, and entered the final round in first place after adding another 12 points in the third round.

Yoo Hyun-jo started well by recording two birdies and one bogey on the first three holes to add three points, and finished the front nine by adding another birdie on the eighth hole (par 4).

At the start of the back nine, Yoo Hyun-jo cheered as she dropped a 7.8-meter birdie putt on the 10th hole (par 4), similar to the first hole, but lost one point after her second shot flew into the rough on the 16th hole (par 4), resulting in a bogey.

An Ji-hyun lost one point with a bogey on the 18th hole (par 4). Yoo Hyun-jo, who entered the final hole trailing Kim Min-sun by one point, secured her victory by recording par after Kim Min-sun's birdie putt narrowly missed the cup.

Yoo Hyun-jo, who officially debuted on the KLPGA Tour in 2024 and won the Rookie of the Year award with one victory and consistent performance, added another win last year and claimed the Player of the Year award with remarkable consistency, finishing in the top 10 a total of 19 times. She also ranked first in average score (69.94 strokes).

This season, she won the DB Women's Championship in May and enjoyed her joy by securing her first multi-win on the KLPGA Tour at this tournament.

With the addition of 180 million won in prize money for winning, Yoo Hyun-jo jumped two spots to fourth place with a season total of 817,784,047 won. She also rose from fifth to fourth place by adding 70 points to her Player of the Year points. In the K-Ranking, she added 0.0108 points to reach 8.1836 points, maintaining third place behind Kim Min-sol and Seo Gyo-rim.

An Ji-hyun captured 11 birdies on the day to accumulate 21 points, but the bogey on the 18th hole was painful. Kim Min-sun also chased Yoo Hyun-jo with five birdies but lacked momentum in the closing stretch, settling for a tie for second place.

Defending champion Kim Min-sol added seven points on the day to finish the tournament in a tie for 15th place with a final total of 39 points. She maintained first place in the prize money ranking (1,541,329,428 won), Rookie of the Year points (2,463 points), and K-Ranking (11.7516 points). She also added 50 points to her Player of the Year points (486 points) to chase leader Seo Gyo-rim (563 points).

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original