Yoo won the inaugural DB Women’s Championship on Saturday at Rainbow Hills Country Club (par 72) in Eumseong, North Chungcheong province, on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. She shot an even-par 72 in the final round with two birdies and two bogeys.
Yoo finished at 7-under 281, edging Ko Ji-won, Kim Min-sol and Lee Da-yeon by one stroke. The tournament carried a total purse of 1.2 billion won, with 216 million won going to the winner.
The 2024 KLPGA rookie of the year, Yoo won last year’s player of the year and low scoring titles. Saturday’s victory was her first of the 2026 season and her third career tour win, coming eight months after her win at the KB Financial Star Championship last September.
"I’m so happy I could become the tournament’s first champion," Yoo said. "I had a tough time early this year. I think I’m even happier because I was able to recover quickly and win."
Yoo entered the season with high expectations but struggled early, failing to contend in her first four starts and missing the cut at the Nexen-SaintNine Masters, which ended April 19. She found momentum at the Deokshin EPC Championship, which ended April 26, tying for third to rebuild confidence.
"Because I did so well last year, I thought I could do even better this year," she said. "The pressure to do better grew, and I became afraid of making mistakes. That led to bad results. Starting with the last tournament, I tried to empty my mind a bit. I wanted to play golf happily as Yoo Hyun-jo before being a golfer. I think this win came from letting go of greed and impatience."
She said the change helped her stay steady after mistakes.
"I think not being impatient was the driving force behind the win," Yoo said. "When I made mistakes, I thought, ‘Winning isn’t something I can do just because I want it.’ I just tried to do my best where I was. Not forcing course strategy or getting greedy helped me win."
Yoo said she is still aiming to lead the tour in wins this season, but without pressing for results.
"This win will give a big boost to my hope of becoming the multiple-wins leader," she said. "That’s still the goal. But I won’t rush just to win. I plan to enjoy it and have fun, like I did this week."
Ko, who led alone after each of the first three rounds, sought her first multiple-win season but lost two strokes Saturday and settled for second.
Park Ju-young, described as a mother on tour, posted the day’s best round by cutting five strokes. She finished at 5-under 283, tied for fifth with Kim Soo-ji and Han Jin-seon.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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