Dongbu Construction Korea Land Trust Championship
A comeback for Im Jin-hee, a thrilling debut victory
“It was really hard, but it’s like a dream”
Ga-young Lee (23), who was stigmatized as “a player who couldn’t win because she was too nice”, finally won her first championship on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) regular tour.
Ga-young Lee was the second to open on the 16th at Iksan CC (par 72) in Iksan, Jeollabuk-do with a modified stableford method (Albatross +8, Eagle +5, Birdie +2, Par 0, Bogey -1, Double Bogey -3) In the final round of the Dongbu Construction Korea Land Trust Championship (total prize money of KRW 1 billion), 15 points were added for 8 birdies and 1 bogey, for a total of +49 points, beating Im Jin – hee (+44 points), the leader of the third round, by 5 points to win the championship. The winner’s prize is 180,000 won.
Gayoung Lee, who went on the regular tour in 2019 after his second tour in 2018 (two wins), felt the thrill of winning his first win in his 98th challenge. Comparing the success of Choi Hye-jin, Lee So-mi, professional classmates Jo A-yeon, Lim Hee-jeong and Park Hyeon-kyung, who hail from the national team, she also aired her eagerness to be alone.
Lee Ga-young was the epitome of the intelligent tribe. In the past four seasons, he has been in the top 10 22 times and finished second four times. He was often withdrawn from winning opportunities. Sometimes they lost in extra time, sometimes they took the lead and were reversed at the last minute. I have had to hear countless times: “I don’t have a strong desire to win and I can’t win because I’m too kind.”
In the second half of this season, after winning second consecutive KLPGA Championship (April) and Kyochon Honey Ladies Open (May) earlier this season, he seemed to be falling into a slump by not making the top 10 in the second half, but rather a modified Stableford-style tournament inducing aggressive play, he found a solution in
Lee Ga-young, who started in second place by one point, caught a birdie for three consecutive holes from the second hole (par 5) and took the lead for the first time, beating Im Jin-hee by one point. Gayoung Lee, who was briefly overtaken by Jinhee Lim, who caught a birdie on the 5th hole (par 4), returned to the 7th hole (par 4) birdie, then added birdie to the 10th hole (par 5) and the 11th hole (par 4) and added a birdie to +46 points and fled by 6 points. On the 16th hole (par 3), Lee Ga-young put a birdie at a distance of 8 meters and clenched his fists, added a birdie to the 17th hole (par 5) and hit the last hole with an advantage of 6 points. Although he made his first bogey at the 18th hole (par 4), the championship was already confirmed.
Gayoung Lee, who was in tears after receiving congratulations from his fellow athletes with chrysanthemum petals and water baptism, said: “It’s like a dream and I can’t believe I did it.” But with today’s victory, I think I have forgotten all the difficulties. “
After last year’s BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup and this season’s McCall Mona Park Open, Lim Jin-hee, who was aiming for two wins this season and three in his career, allowed a comeback by adding nine points with five birdies and a bugbear. Lee Ye-won, the leader of the Rookie of the Year, added 11 points to take third place with a total of +41 points, while Lim Hee-jung and Park Hyun-kyung tied for fourth place (+39 points ).
