Seo Kyo-rim clinched her fourth victory of the season on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour after defeating her rival Kim Min-sol in a playoff.
On August 23, at the Garden Palace Course of Pocheon Hills Country Club in Gyeonggi Province, Seo shot a 2-over par 74, with two birdies and four bogeys, during the final round of the 48th KLPGA Championship, which has a total prize pool of 1.5 billion won.
With a total score of 8-under par 280, Seo tied with Kim Min-sol and secured the championship by making a birdie on the first hole of the playoff, the par-5 18th. The winner's prize is 270 million won.
With this victory, Seo's cumulative earnings reached 1.286 billion won, narrowly surpassing Kim Min-sol's 1.286 billion won to take the lead in the prize money standings. She also maintained her lead in wins with four this season, as well as in points (490) and average score.
Seo, who won the Rookie of the Year award last year without a victory, has claimed titles at the Celltrion Queens Masters and the Inca Financial The Heaven Masters in June, and she triumphed again at the Mediheal-Korea Ilbo Championship last week. This latest win marks her first major title and comes after two consecutive victories.
Seo started the final round with a three-shot lead over Kim Min-sol but made consecutive bogeys on the 3rd hole (par-5) and the 5th hole (par-4), and lost another shot on the 7th hole (par-4) when her second shot went into a penalty area. Her three-shot lead evaporated, and she found herself tied with Kim Min-sol.
Seo struggled again on the 10th hole (par-5) and fell two shots behind Kim Min-sol. However, the tide turned on the 16th hole (par-3) when Seo made her first birdie of the day while Kim recorded a bogey, bringing them back to a tie. Both players made birdies on the 18th hole (par-5), finishing the regular round tied.
In the playoff on the 18th hole, Seo emerged victorious. Although her tee shot went into the rough, she managed to place her third shot just 60 centimeters from the hole and secured the decisive birdie. Kim Min-sol, on the other hand, could only make par, settling for second place.
Park Min-ji finished in third place with a total score of 7-under par 281. Moon Jeong-min and Ko Ji-woo tied for fourth place with scores of 6-under par 282.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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