"Is It True That Even-Numbered Years Bring Victory?… Lee So-young Leads by 1 Stroke"

So-Young Lee 1-Under Par in Round 2 of Major KB Financial Star Championship
Previous Leader Min-Ji Park in 2nd, Yoon-Ji Jung Jumps 9 Spots to 3rd
Yeon-Jeong Seo Tied 6th, Overseas Player In-Ji Jeon Tied 10th

Lee So-young is putting on the 2nd hole of the 2nd round at the KB Financial Star Championship. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter Seohee Lee] Lee So-young (25) seems poised to continue her "even-year victory" streak.

On the 16th, Lee So-young shot a 1-under-par 71 in the second round of the KB Financial Star Championship (total prize money 1.2 billion KRW), the fourth major tournament of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, held at Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,689 yards). She rose to the top of the leaderboard with a total score of 2-under-par 142. Lee So-young recorded 4 birdies and 3 bogeys, reducing her score by one stroke.

After a shaky start with a bogey on the 1st hole (par 5), Lee So-young showed resilience by making birdies on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th holes. She finished the round with one birdie and two bogeys on the back nine. Despite the challenging course, her calm performance and improved putting stood out.

Lee So-young, who debuted on the KLPGA Tour in 2016, is famous for her "even-year victory" superstition. After winning once in her debut year, she won three times in 2018, and once each in 2020 and 2022, establishing a pattern of winning only in even years. She secured her sixth career victory last month at the Daewoo Winia·MBN Women's Open.

Due to the difficult course, only four players scored under par today: Lee So-young, Cho Ah-yeon (22), Jeon Woo-ri (25), and Lee Ki-ppeum (28). The cut line was a staggering 12-over-par, easily surpassing the 9-over-par record set at last month's major Hanwha Classic tournament.

The ruthless rough and cliff-like greens troubled even top golfers. Park Min-ji (24), who led the previous day, dropped one stroke to finish second (1-under-par 143), falling one spot. Seo Yeon-jeong (27), who was third the day before, struggled with a 4-over-par round and dropped three places to a tie for sixth (3-over-par 147). Jeon In-ji (28), the "Major Queen" returning to the domestic stage after a year, lost four strokes and tied for tenth place (5-over-par 149).

Some players improved their rankings. Jung Yoon-ji (21) exchanged three birdies for three bogeys and did not reduce her score, but rose nine places from the previous day to third place (1-over-par 145).

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