Lee Ye-won secured a comeback victory at the KLPGA Tour S-OIL Championship, with a total prize pool of 1 billion won, marking her 11th career win.
On November 1, at the Elysian Jeju (par 72) in Jeju City, Lee shot a final round of 71, with two birdies and one bogey, finishing at 12-under 276. She outpaced second-place Moon Jeong-min, who finished at 9-under 279, by three strokes to lift the winner's trophy. The victory came with a prize of 180 million won.
Lee achieved her second win of the season, about six months after her first victory at the Deoksin EPC Championship in April. This win also marked her 11th title on the KLPGA Tour.
This victory is particularly significant as it breaks her previous pattern of struggling in the latter half of the season. Lee has shown strength early in the season, winning 8 of her 10 titles between March and June. However, she had not secured a win in the fall since the 2023 Hite Jinro Championship.
Starting the final round in second place, one stroke behind leader Lee Ji-hyun 3, Lee demonstrated steady play despite strong winds exceeding 6 meters per second. She quickly took the lead with a 5-meter birdie on the second hole (par 4) and added another birdie on the eighth hole (par 4) by placing her second shot just one meter from the hole. Although she lost a stroke on the 12th hole (par 3), she maintained her lead by parring the remaining holes.
After the match, Lee expressed, "Winning in the fall instead of the spring feels like a dream. I have often felt regret at the end of the year, but I am so happy that I won’t repeat that this year. I worked hard on weight training last winter, believing this fall would be different, and thankfully, it turned out well. I will do my best to achieve good results in the season finale next week."
Kim Min-sol, the top earner, finished tied for 12th with a total of 3-under 285. Although she failed to reclaim the top spot in the points race, she added 11.74 million won to her earnings, becoming the first player in KLPGA Tour history to surpass 1.6 billion won (1.6081 billion won) in a single season.
Lee Ji-hyun 3, who led after three rounds and was aiming for her first career win, fell to a tie for third after losing six strokes on the final day, finishing at 6-under 282.
In the competition for the 60th spot in the money rankings, which secures a regular tour card for next year, Kim Ji-yoon successfully maintained her position at 60th. In contrast, Lee Jae-yoon, who finished 61st, will have to compete in the qualifying tournament to secure a spot.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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