Yoo Ji-na (21) has won the sixth leg of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) MC Square-Gunsan CC Dream Tour with a total prize fund of 100 million won.
Yoo shot a three-round total of 16-under-par 200 on the final day of the tournament at Gunsan Country Club (par-72) in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, on the 26th to tie with Lee Sun-young (23) in a play-off.
The pair battled to the fourth hole of the extra session, which Yoo won. Lee missed a birdie putt from around seven metres, while Yoo sank스포츠토토 a 1.5-metre birdie to claim her first professional victory.
“I’m really happy to win my first professional title,” said Yoo. I wasn’t even thinking about winning, but I think I just took the pressure off and played calmly and it paid off,” she said.
Yoo continued, “It was really hard because I didn’t play well until the third round of the Dream Tour. I even lost my love for golf, but after the third round, my mum told me, ‘You’re still young, so do whatever you want to do’. After hearing her words, I felt much more relaxed, and unexpectedly, my results started to come from the fourth round. I think this win is all thanks to my mum,” he said.
Yoo, who made her KLPGA Tour debut in 2022 as a runner-up in the 2021 Regular Tour Seedings, felt the pressure. In 28 tournaments, she made just seven cuts and was ranked 87th on the money list, meaning she failed to earn a seed.
After failing to qualify for the main draw, Yoo worked hard to return to the regular tour last winter. “My goal was to win the Dream Tour and return to the regular tour. With today’s win, I’ve achieved one of my goals,” she said. “I’m going to improve my technique a little bit more and try to win one more title in the second half of the year, and while I’m at it, I’ll try to win the Dream Tour money.”
With the win, Yuna earned $15 million in prize money and moved up 31 spots to second on the season’s money list with $19.635 million. The top spot is held by Lee Sun-young, who lost to Yoo in overtime (approximately $21.2 million).