Park Minji Wins Four Crowns... Im Heejeong Popularity Award

At KLPGA Awards Ceremony, Song Ga-eun Honored with Multiple Wins, Prize Money, Grand Prize, Special Award; Rookie of the Year, Kim Su-ji Receives Skill Improvement Award, Hong Ran Awarded Donation Prize

'Korea's No. 1' Park Min-ji is smiling brightly at the KLPGA Awards Ceremony. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Park Min-ji (23, NH Investment & Securities), the 'No. 1 in Korea,' achieved a grand slam of four titles.

At the '2021 Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Awards Ceremony' held on the 30th at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam, Seoul, she received honors for most wins, prize money, Player of the Year, and a special award. Park Min-ji swept up six victories this season, including one major win. She set a milestone as the first ever to surpass 1.5 billion KRW in season prize money. She cheered, "I never thought I could receive the Player of the Year award. Winning more than one tournament in a year makes me very happy, and being the top winner is also very meaningful."

Im Hee-jung is smiling at the KLPGA Grand Awards ceremony. Photo by KLPGA

Im Hee-jung (21, Korea Land Trust) won the popularity award with a total of 8,082 votes in an online poll by golf fans. Park Hyun-kyung (21, Korea Land Trust) came in second with 5,808 votes, and Park Joo-young (31, Dongbu Construction) was third with 3,231 votes. Im Hee-jung entered the top 10 fifteen times, including a victory at the August National Shelter High1 Resort Ladies Open, ranking second in both prize money and Player of the Year. She said, "Watching the votes, I felt the growing popularity of golf. I will show even better performances."

Jang Ha-na (29, BC Card) received her first-ever lowest scoring average award. Song Ga-eun (21, MG Saemaeul Geumgo) took home the rookie of the year award, which is given only once in a lifetime. She is this year's only rookie champion. Five players?Kwak Bo-mi (29, High1 Resort), Kim Su-ji (25, Dongbu Construction), Song Ga-eun, Im Jin-hee (23, K-Drive), and Jeon Ye-seong (20, GTG Wellness)?joined the 'KLPGA Winners Club.' Yoon Yi-na (18, Hite Jinro) was the Dream Tour prize money leader, and Kim Sun-mi (48, Hangwang Electric Industry) was the Champions Tour prize money leader.

Kim Su-ji received the 'Most Improved Player Award' selected by golf journalists. In September, she won her first career victory at the KG·Edaily Ladies Open, her 115th tournament since debuting in 2017, and in October, she became the major queen at the Hite Jinro Championship. She said, "It is very meaningful and an honor to receive this special award. This winter, I will strengthen my physical fitness and focus on practicing short games around the greens."

The recipient of this year's newly established 'Beautiful Donation Award' was Hong Ran (35, Samchully). In June, during the second round of the major DB Group Korea Women's Open, she made history as the first player in Korea to participate in 1,000 rounds. At the celebration event, she donated 10 million KRW to the KLPGA. She promised, "I donated because I wanted to contribute even a little to the association's development. I am happy and also a bit embarrassed to receive this award. I will continue to strive to be of help in the future."

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