'Desert Fox' Lim Hee-jeong's 6-shot Victory "I am the Major Queen"..."Next Target is Prize Money Queen" (Summary)

KLPGA Tour Major Korea Women's Open Final Day Adds 3 Under Par to Set '72-Hole Lowest Score' Record, Kwon Seoyeon 2nd, Park Minji 3rd

Im Hee-jeong is giving an exhilarating kiss to the trophy immediately after winning the Korean Women's Open.

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] It is a decisive victory for ‘Desert Fox’ Lim Hee-jeong (22, Korea Land & Trust).

On the 19th, at the Rainbow Hills Golf Club in Eumseong, Chungbuk (par 72, 6,763 yards), Lim Hee-jeong finished the final day of the KLPGA Tour major DB Group Korea Women's Open (total prize money 1.2 billion KRW) with a 3-under-par round, achieving a commanding 6-stroke victory (19-under-par 269). She broke the 72-hole lowest score record previously set by Oh Ji-hyun (26) in 2018 and Park Min-ji (24, NH Investment & Securities) last year with 17-under-par 271. This marks her 5th career win, coming 10 months after the High1 Resort Ladies Open last August.

Last year, Lim Hee-jeong confidently ranked 2nd in prize money, leading with 15 top-10 finishes including one win in 28 events. Despite this, she lacked wins, with three runner-ups and three third-place finishes. However, this year she is not yet in full condition due to a traffic accident in April. She has to visit the hospital weekly, and her startled muscles stiffen easily, requiring meticulous body management. It is remarkable that she showed a winning march with 4-under-par on the first day, and 6-under-par on both the second and third days of the tournament.

On this day, she recorded 4 birdies and 1 bogey. She started well with consecutive birdies on holes 1 and 2, and energized the round with birdies on hole 7 (par 5) and hole 11 (par 3). The bogey on the late 15th hole (par 4) did not affect her victory. She said, "Although the stroke difference was large, I had no intention of just defending the lead," and added, "My goal was 20-under-par, so I am a bit disappointed I couldn’t achieve it." With the winner’s prize of 300 million KRW, she jumped to 2nd place in prize money (406.2 million KRW) and expressed her determination, saying, "I want to be the prize money queen."

Im Hee-jung is cheering at the moment her victory is confirmed on the 18th hole of the final day of the Korean Women's Open.

While Lim Hee-jeong was running away with the lead, rookie Kwon Seo-yeon (21, Woori Financial Group) reduced her score by 4 strokes to rise to 2nd place (13-under-par 275). This is her second runner-up finish following the Nexen Saintnine Masters in April, showing a smooth landing. Defending champion Park Min-ji faltered with a 2-under-par round and remained in 3rd place (12-under-par 276). She lost 3 strokes in the last two holes with a double bogey on hole 17 (par 3) and a bogey on hole 18 (par 4), surrendering her 2nd place position.

This came at a time when she was challenging to defend three titles in one season for the first time in 40 years in KLPGA Tour history, having achieved back-to-back wins last month at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies and on the 12th at the Celltrion Queens Masters. Kim Hee-jun (22), Kim Su-ji (26), and Lee Ga-young (23) tied for 4th place (11-under-par 277), and Oh Ji-hyun settled in 10th place (9-under-par 279) with a daily best 7-under-par round. ‘Match Queen’ Hong Jung-min (20, CJ OnStyle) finished tied for 15th place (7-under-par 281).

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