Back to normal following 3 years and 8 months with ‘Wire to Wire’… 4 overall wins
Korea’s ‘major draw’ ended with 7 tournaments… Hye-Jin Choi, Se-Young Kim, and Hyo-Joo Kim tied for 5th place
Jeon In-ji (28) won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (total prize money of $9 million), a major event on the LPGA Tour in the United States.
In the final 4 rounds of the tournament held at the Congressional Country Club (par 72, 6,831 yards) in Bethesda, Maryland, USA on the 27th (Korean time), Jeon In-ji scored 2 birdies and 5 bogeys to hit a 3-over par 75. hit
Jeon In-ji, who recorded a final total of 5 under par 283, climbed to the top by one stroke behind tied 2nd place Lexi Thompson (USA) and Lee Min-ji (Australia, 4 under par 284).
This is Jeon In-ji’s first LPGA Tour win in 3 years and 8 months since the KEB Hana Bank Championship in October 2018.
The prize money for the championship is 1.35 million dollars (regarding 1.75 billion won).
In particular, Jeon In-ji showed off her strong side by winning three of her four career victories on the LPGA Tour, including the 2015 US Women’s Open, the 2016 Evian Championship, and this tournament.
In the first round of this tournament, Jeon In-ji took the lead by driving 2nd and 5 strokes by driving an 8-under par, and then ran away by 6 strokes in the 2nd round.
In the final round of the day, he once gave up the lead to Thompson, but he completed the ‘Wire to Wire’ victory with a comeback at the last minute.
Jeon In-ji jumped up to 2nd place in the LPGA Tour season prize money (18,15,531 dollars) and 4th place (72 points) in the Player of the Year award thanks to her victory in this tournament.
The first place in both categories is Lee Min-ji ($3,372,950, 135 points).
With Jeon In-ji’s victory, the Korean player’s ‘consecutive draw’ in the LPGA Tour’s major tournament, which had been followed since A-rim Kim (27) of the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, ended with 7 tournaments.
On the LPGA Tour this season, Korean players have won a total of 4 victories: Jin-young Ko (27) of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March, Hyo-joo Kim (27) of the Lotte Championship in April, Eun-hee Ji (36) of the Bank of Hope Match Play last month, and In-ji Jeon of this tournament. collaborated with
While In-ji Jeon, who started the final round with a lead by three strokes, struggled with bogeys on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th holes in the midst of a difficult course and a formidable wind, Thompson took the lead alone thanks to two early birdies.
On the ninth hole (par 5), Jeon Inji, who wrote bogey with a shaky shot, was pushed back by two strokes at the end of the first half.
In-Jeon Jeon dropped a tricky mid-range putt on the 11th hole (par 5) and made her first birdie, but Thompson also responded with a birdie on the hole, leading to two strokes.
On the 12th hole (par 4), both players recorded bogeys, so the gap did not narrow.
Thompson was chased by one stroke due to a short par putt mistake on the 14th hole (par 4), but the ball rolled with a putter on the 15th hole (par 4) fringe on the next hole was sucked into the hole and became a birdie, and he succeeded in rebounding to win. it seemed
However, the situation has changed drastically since then.
Thompson’s third shot from the rough around the 16th hole (par 5) green went over the green and landed on the opposite side, and the ball hit with a putter went far past the hole and eventually lost one shot.
On the other hand, Jeon In-ji did not miss the opportunity made with an accurate wedge shot and made the second birdie on the day to achieve my tie.
Then, on the 17th hole (par 4), Jeon Inji, who kept the par as Thompson might not put a short par putt once more, regained the lead position alone.
On the 18th hole (par 4), Jeon In-ji, who won the championship by writing par 4 side by side, thanked the sponsors and fans who supported them at the awards ceremony and shed tears of emotion.
He also confessed, “I wanted to quit golf when I was in a slump,” and he said, “I’m happy to be able to repay the people who believed in me and supported me until the end with a win.
I will try to reach a new goal,” he said.
Thompson, who was aiming for the championship for the first time in three years since the Shopright Classic in June 2019, was shaken one following another and had to be content with the runner-up.
Lee Min-ji, who won the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month, reduced two strokes that day and finished the tournament in a tie for second place, continuing her upward trend in the majors.
Ataya Titikun (Thailand) placed 4th (3 under par 285), and Choi Hye-jin (23) and Kim Se-young (29), who started tied for 2nd with Thompson, lost 4 strokes each and tied 5th with Kim Hyo-joo (1 under par 287) t) was located.
Choi Hye-jin, who is competing with the rookie of the year, recorded 787 points and maintained second place following the tee thief (840 points).
Ji Eun-hee is tied for 10th (even par 288), and Park In-bi (34), Lee Jeong-eun (34), and Shin Ji-eun (30) are tied for 25th (3 over par 291).
World No. 1 Jinyoung Ko and last year’s winner, World No. 2 Nelly Corda (USA), tied for 30th (4 over par 292).
/yunhap news