2nd win in 1 year and 9 months Lee Ga-young, ‘Queen of Tears’

LPGA Lotte Open 1st extended playoff defeats Yoon Eana and Choi Ye-rim, first win of the season, tears welling up as colleagues congratulate her on her win Yoon Eana, 3 times runner-up since her return

Lee Ga-young is celebrating with both arms outstretched after winning the Lotte Open extension of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour on the 7th with a birdie. Lee Ga-young, who won her first tour debut in October 2022, recorded her second win in 1 year and 9 months.

‘Pretty golfer Lee Ga-young, you’re the best!’

Lee Ga-young (25) repeated these words as she began the 2024 Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour Lotte Open extension, which ended on the 7th at the Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club (par 72) in Incheon. It was a message of support from her older brother, who returned from his deployment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a captain in the Army Special Warfare Command (Special Forces), to her younger sister during this tournament.

. Lee Ga-young won the tournament by making a birdie putt on the 18th hole (par 4) in the extension. Yoon Ina (21) and Choi Ye-rim (25), who played the extension with her, finished with par. It has been about 21 months since Lee Ga-young won the KLPGA Tour tournament at the 2022 Dongbu Construction-Korea Land Trust Championship in October, and only the second time overall. With this win, Lee Ga-young, who took home 216 million won in prize money, rose to 12th place in the season prize money rankings (357.54 million won) and 14th place in target points (140 points).

After making the winning putt, Lee Ga-young shed tears and said, “When I first won, my brother wasn’t here, so my whole family couldn’t share in the joy,” and “This time, I won a tournament with my whole family, so I cried.” She continued, “There are still a lot of tournaments left this season, so I want to win two more. In particular, I want to win the Hite Jinro Championship and have a beer-drinking ceremony.”

Lee Ga-young started the final fourth round with a three-stroke lead. While Lee Ga-young reduced her score by one stroke, Yoon Ea-na reduced her score by nine strokes and Choi Ye-rim reduced her score by six strokes. As a result, Lee Ga-young, who had once fallen to second place, was able to rise back to a joint lead after making a birdie on the 17th hole (par 3).

Lee Ga-young said, “At first, for some reason, I wasn’t nervous at all. Then, when I saw that I had dropped to second place, I started to feel nervous,” and “During the extension, I thought, ‘I’ve got one more chance,’ so I wasn’t nervous.”

Yoon E-na and Choi Ye-rim started the extension with wood, but Lee Ga-young chose the driver. Choi Ye-rim placed the ball 2.3m from the hole and Yoon E-na 3.4m away, and Lee Ga-young, who took the second shot, placed the ball 1.2m away. She also succeeded in making a birdie putt, recording her first extension win since her debut on the KLPGA Tour. Yoon E-na broke the course record with a 9-under 63 on this day, but had to settle for second place once again. Yoon E-na left the field for 21 months due to a ‘misplay’ and has only had three second place finishes without a win since returning. This is the second time Yoon E-na has lost an extension since returning to the field, following the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup two weeks ago. Choi Ye-rim also lost an extension for the second week in a row, following the McCall Mona Yongpyong Open last week. This is Choi Ye-rim’s eighth runner-up finish since her debut on the KLPGA Tour, and she has yet to lift a trophy in 175 tournaments. Park Hyun-kyung (24), who won the tournament by defeating Yoon Ina and Choi Ye-rim in an extension over the past two weeks, finished the tournament tied for 9th place (total score of 11-under 277). 카지노사이트