[KLPGA Tour Review] '6-Win Champion' Park Minji 'Dominates Domestic Stage'... Choi Hyejin 'Without Title'

Park Minji Sweeps Wins, MVP, and Prize Money; 'LPGA Member' Kim Hyoju Wins 2 Titles in 4 Tournaments; Song Gaeun Rookie of the Year 'Star Emerges'

In her fifth year, Park Min-ji dominated the KLPGA Tour this year, sweeping up six wins including one major victory.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Dominating the domestic stage’.

It is the exhilaration of Park Min-ji (23, NH Investment & Securities). In the 2021 season of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, she achieved an impressive feat by sweeping 6 wins including 1 major title. She set milestones by leading in both wins and the Player of the Year points (680 points), and becoming the first ever to surpass 1.5 billion KRW (1.52137 billion KRW) in season prize money. On the other hand, Choi Hye-jin (22, Lotte), who had high expectations, did not secure a single win. Song Ga-eun (21, MG Saemaeul Geumgo) was the only rookie to claim a championship and won the Rookie of the Year title.

Park Min-ji is a 5th-year player who joined the regular tour in 2017. Until last year, she was known for her consistency, winning at least one tournament every year. This year, her potential exploded. After her first win at the Nexen Saintnine Masters in April, she caused a sensation by winning back-to-back at her sponsor’s tournaments: the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship and the Doosan Match Play Championship in May. In June, she topped the leaderboard at the Celltrion Queens Masters and the major DB Group Korea Women’s Open.

In July, she also became the inaugural champion of the newly established Daebo House D Open. She had no rivals. Since the season opener, she stormed through 11 tournaments with 6 wins. Her driving distance averaged 242.90 yards (ranked 23rd), her greens in regulation rate was 78.89% (3rd), showcasing her pinpoint iron shots, and her putting average per round was 30.29 (24th), demonstrating her precise putting. Out of 25 tournaments entered, she qualified for the final rounds 21 times. She also made it into the ‘Top 10’ an impressive 14 times.

Her pace slightly slowed from August, and it was unfortunate that she could not surpass Shin Ji-ae’s (33) record of 9 wins in a single season. Park Min-ji said, "After winning 6 times, 9 wins seemed possible," but added, "I’m not sad about not breaking the record for most wins," reflecting, "I just think I need to grow more." She continued, "My goal is always to have a better season than last year," and expressed her determination, "Next year, I will focus with the mindset of winning at least 2 tournaments."

'LPGA member' Kim Hyo-joo won 2 titles by competing in only 4 domestic tournaments.

The strong performance of Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte), an LPGA member, also stood out. She won the OK Savings Bank Park Seri Invitational in September and the SK Networks Seoul Economic Ladies Classic in October. She secured 2 wins in just 4 tournaments, earning prize money of 202.53 million KRW. Jang Ha-na (29, BC Card), Yoo Hae-ran (20, SK Networks), Lee So-mi (22, SBI Savings Bank), and Kim Su-ji (25, Dongbu Construction) also joined the ‘2-win champions’ group, driving the tour’s popularity.

Song Ga-eun became the only rookie this year to collect a championship trophy and was crowned Rookie of the Year.

Song Ga-eun created an upset by defeating ‘Evian champion’ Minjee Lee (Australia) in a playoff at the Hana Financial Group Championship in October. She earned her first career win after 23 tournaments and received prize money of 270 million KRW. She ranks 13th in the season’s prize money standings with 513.22 million KRW. Additionally, she fiercely competed with Hong Jeong-min (19, CJ OnStyle, 2129 points) until the final SK Shieldus SK Telecom Championship, ultimately winning the Rookie of the Year title with 2177 points. The point difference between the two players was 48 points.

On the other hand, Choi Hye-jin suffered from a severe win drought. She is a top player with a total of 10 wins including 2 as an amateur. She participated in 28 tournaments and made the ‘Top 10’ eleven times. She performed well enough to place in the ‘Top 3’ four times but fell short by 2%. Players with winning experience such as Jo Jeong-min (27, Golden Blue), Park Gyeol (25, Samil Pharmaceutical), Choi Hye-yong (31, Mediheal), and In Ju-yeon (24, Samchully) also failed to enter the top 60 in prize money and dropped to the qualifying stage.

Choi Hye-jin, who had accumulated 10 wins until last year, experienced the humiliation of going trophyless this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.