Jin-hee Lim has won the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour title in dramatic fashion.
Im shot a 5-under 67 in the final round of the KLPGA Tour’s SK Shielders-SK Telecom Open (total prize money of 1 billion won) on Wednesday at Rabiebel Country Club Old Course (Par 72) in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, to win with a final total of 16-under 200.
With her fourth victory of the season, Lim clinched the top spot on the money list, ahead of two other three-time winners, Lee Ye-won and Park Ji-young.
The SK Shields-SK Telecom Open is the final event of the season.
Prior to the tournament, Lee had already clinched the money title and the grand prize, as well as the top spot in stroke average, leaving only one of the four individual titles up for grabs.
After winning her first title of the season at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship in May, she went on to win the Jeju Samdasoo Masters in August and the Sangsangin-Korea Economic TV Open in October. Her sixth career victory.
With the 200 million won prize money, she moved into second place on the money list (1.145 billion won).
Im enjoyed her best season since her debut, ranking second on the money list and fourth in stroke average.
Entering the final round with a two-stroke lead over Lee, Jin-hee continued her par streak until the eighth hole.
“The course was difficult, so I played steady,” Lim said, but she lost the lead to Lee, who birdied the seventh and eighth holes in a row.
Refreshed, Lim played aggressively on the ninth (par-4), placing her second shot 1.5 meters to the side of the hole for her first birdie of the day.
A three-putt bogey by Lee on the 11th (par-5) restored her two-stroke lead, but back-to-back birdies on the 14th (par-4) and 15th (par-5) sealed the deal.
A birdie on the 17th (par-3) drove the wedge home, and she followed it up with the winning birdie on the 18th (par-4).
“My goals for the season were to win over 1 billion won in prize money and to win more than once,” Lim said, adding, “My score this season is 100.”
“I will challenge for the No. 1 ranking in the world,” said Lim, who will compete in the LPGA Tour’s Qualifying Series in December. I did something I never imagined as a rookie. Nothing is impossible.”
Lee Da-yeon, who was in contention for the title with Lim, shaved two strokes off her score to finish five shots back in second place (11-under 205).
Kim Min-ju and Jung So-i tied for third (3-under par 213).
Yewon Lee, who took home a trio of awards, including cash prize, grand prize, and best scoring average, finished tied for 11th (2-over par 218).
Tied for 14th (3-over par 219), Min Byul Kim clinched the Rookie of the Year honors.
Defending champion Park Min-ji finished the final tournament of the season in a tie for 50th place (10-over par 226).
Park Do-eun, who entered the tournament ranked 64th on the money list, finished tied for seventh (even-par 216) to move up to 60th on the money list and earn the 60th seed for next year. 토토사이트