Seo Kyo-rim overturned a three-shot deficit with an 8-under final round to capture the Medihill-Hankook Ilbo Championship, her third victory on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour this season. The event carried a total purse of 1.2 billion won ($870,000).
In the fourth and final round on the 16th at the Myeongseongsan Course (par 72) of Mont Vert Country Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, Seo shot a 64 with nine birdies and one bogey to shave eight strokes off par.
Her final total of 18-under 270 pushed 20-year-old rival Kim Min-sol, who had shared the lead through three rounds, into second place at 16-under 272, two shots back.
With her third win of the season and the 216 million won ($157,000) winner’s check, Seo drew level with Kim in victories and moved to the top of the season points race with 390 points.
Seo began the final round in fourth place, three shots behind co-leaders Kim and Choi Ye-rim. She charged after the leaders with five birdies and no bogeys through the 11th hole.
After stumbling with a bogey at the par-5 12th, Seo relied on precise iron shots and putting to string together three consecutive birdies from the par-4 13th through the par-3 15th. During that stretch, Kim, who had been leading outright, lost three shots with a bogey at the 12th and a double bogey at the 14th, and the lead changed hands.
When Kim birdied the 15th and 16th to close back within one shot and raise the pressure, Seo shifted the momentum again with a birdie at the final 18th hole. Kim failed to make up any further ground, sealing Seo’s victory.
“With the gap in strokes, I never even thought I would win,” Seo said. “Kim and I are now tied at three wins each, but I want to be the first to reach four.”
Seo also narrowed the gap with Kim in season earnings, rising to second place with 1.01 billion won ($732,000). Kim, who had been on the verge of a record fourth win in a rookie season, slipped to second in the points race with 353 points. But her runner-up check of 132 million won ($96,000) kept her atop the season earnings list with 1.12 billion won ($812,000), making her the first rookie to surpass 1 billion won.
#KLPGA#SeoKyorim#KimMinsol#WomensGolf#KoreanGolf#GolfTour
Original reporting by Han Dong-hoon for Seoul Economic Daily.
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording.
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