Park Minji "Cheers for 2 Consecutive Wins at the Sponsor Tournament"... Amateur Hwang Yumin '2nd Place by 1 Stroke' (Summary)

11th Career Win in 10 Months at NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, Hwang Jeongmi and Jeong Yoonji Tied for 2nd, Lee Yewon 5th

Park Min-ji is cheering after successfully defending her title at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Domestic No. 1’ Park Min-ji (24, NH Investment & Securities) achieves her second consecutive victory.

On the 15th, at Suwon Golf Club in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,581 yards), Park Min-ji secured a one-stroke win (11-under 205) by shooting 2-under in the final third round of the KLPGA Tour NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship (total prize money 800 million KRW). She successfully defended her title at the sponsored tournament and received a winner’s prize of 144 million KRW. This marks her 11th career win, coming 10 months after her victory at the Daebo House Open last July.

Starting as a co-leader by one stroke, Park Min-ji recorded five birdies and three bogeys. She started off strong with a birdie on the 1st hole, and the bogey on the 6th hole was immediately recovered with a birdie on the 7th hole (both par 4s). She then added three more birdies on the 9th, 11th, and 13th holes, taking the top spot on the leaderboard. Although she made bogeys on the 15th (par 4) and 17th (par 5) holes, they did not affect her victory. She relied on powerful drives up to 282.2 yards and precise iron shots as her driving force.

Park Min-ji is a star who dominated the KLPGA Tour last year. She swept six wins in the season, earning the most wins and the Player of the Year award, and became the first in KLPGA Tour history to surpass 1.5 billion KRW (1,521,370,000 KRW) in season prize money. This year, she contracted COVID-19 and missed the 2022 season opener, the Lotte Rent-a-Car Ladies Open, and withdrew from the Nexen Saint Nine Masters due to aftereffects. Fortunately, she made a comeback with a tie for 4th place at the KLPGA Championship and a tie for 8th place at last week’s Kyochon Honey Ladies Open.

Amateur Hwang Yumin is teeing off at the 4th hole on the final day of the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship. Photo by KLPGA

"I cried a lot because I couldn’t participate in tournaments after contracting COVID-19 this year," said Park Min-ji. "I really wanted to win and come to the media center. I’m so happy that it actually happened," she cheered. She added, "I will work hard to win again next week," and confidently stated, "If I get the chance, I will win every time." Amateur Hwang Yu-min (19, Korea National Sport University) finished tied for 2nd place (10-under 206). It was regrettable that she made a bogey on the final 18th hole (par 3) after sharing the lead.

Hwang Jung-mi (23, Q Capital) and Jung Yoon-ji (22, NH Investment & Securities) joined the tie for 2nd place. Lee Ye-won (19, KB Financial Group) placed 5th (8-under 208), Oh Ji-hyun (26, Daebang Construction) 6th (6-under 210), and Lee So-mi (23, SBI Savings Bank) tied for 7th (5-under 211). The top money earner Yoo Hae-ran (21, Daol Financial Group) lost four strokes and dropped to a tie for 53rd place (3-over 219). Park Hyun-kyung (22, Korea Land & Trust) and Park Gyeol (26, Samil Pharmaceutical) are also in this group.

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