After 148 taps, he held his first championship trophy.
Lee Joo-mi (28) won her first tour victory at the Korea Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour Mediheal and Hankook Ilbo Championships. Lee Joo-mi reduced 4 strokes with 5 birdies and 1 bogey in the final 4 rounds of the tournament held at Ferrum Club (par 72) in Yeoju-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 16th, and stood at the top with a final total of 12 under par 276 strokes. He beat Park Hyun-kyung (23) in second place by one stroke and received 180 million won in prize money.
This is the first win for Lee Joo-mi, who debuted on the regular tour in 2015. That’s her own 148 entries. Lee Joo-mi became the first player to win after her fourth most appearances in all-time after Songi Ahn (237), So-yeon Park (167) and Chae-Young Yoon (157).
Prior to this tournament, Lee Joo-mi’s best ever result was 5th at the Daebo House The Open in July 2021. Her top 10 entry was all three. She even went down to the 2019 and 2020 She Dream (Part 2) tours. Even last year, she managed to keep her place in the money list, finishing 58th, giving her top 60 finishes.
Although she finished the third round in a tie for fourth at this event as well, she was not noticed as a favorite to win. Above her names Lee Joo-mi were Park Ji-young (27), Park Min-ji (25), and Park Hyun-kyung. Park Ji-young, her ‘defending champion’, was looking for her second win of the season following her season-opening win (Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open) held last December. She surpassed Park Min-ji, who had two consecutive victories in tour titles and prize money last year, and Park Hyun-kyung, who passed the cut in all 27 tournaments despite not winning last year.
Lee Joo-mi got the start of a comeback on her last two holes. She rolled her second shot on the 17th hole (par 4) to a distance of 2.6 yards (about 2.4m), and Lee Joo-mi succeeded in her birdie putt and took the lead alone. Her own next turn was to pressure her champion Joe players. Lee Joo-mi, who received her momentum, put her third shot on the 18th hole (par 5) closer to the hole at a distance of 1.5 yards (about 1.4m), and she made consecutive birdies to put a wedge in the game. 스포츠토토
Park Hyeon-gyeong, who took the lead at one point in the second half, missed the opportunity to win the championship by bogeying down on the 14th hole (par 3) and 16th hole (par 3). She had to be content with being tied for 2nd to sole 2nd, cutting one stroke off with a birdie on the 18th hole. Conversely, rookie Kim Min-byeol (19), who was on the verge of finishing second alone, missed a 2.8m birdie putt on the 18th hole and then missed a 0.6m par par to finish the tournament in a tie for 3rd place.
Lee Joo-mi said, “I thought I would cry a lot (if I won), but I couldn’t believe it.” I feel like she was able to win (without pressure) because she didn’t play in the champion group,” he said. “(During my career as a player) I had a lot of difficulties. Her parents also talked about quitting golf and looking for a second life.
Lee Joo-mi, who won her first victory after 148 challenges, dreams that this victory will become a new turning point. Lee Joo-mi, who immediately secured the qualifications to participate in the regular tour for two years, said, “Two years have passed that I did not expect. He has not set any goals right now, but he thinks it is necessary to revise the existing goals.” When asked where he would spend the prize money, he said, “It is a happy worry. Since his hometown is Busan, he looked for a room in Yongin (Gyeonggi), but the contract period is coming to an end. I wonder if he will use it to get a new room.”