"This Year Seemed Tough... Lee So-mi Finally Achieves Victory"

SK Networks·Seoul Economic Ladies Classic Victory
First Win Recorded Late in Jeju After Nine Top-10 Finishes This Season
Players Refrain from Celebrations Out of Mourning for Itaewon Incident

Lee So-mi is teeing off at the 3rd hole during the final round of the 'SK Networks-Seoul Economic Ladies Classic' held on the 30th at Pinx GC in Jeju.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Tae-won Choi] "I was worried whether I could win this year, but now that I actually won, I am so happy." Lee So-mi (23), who recorded nine top-10 finishes this season but had little luck with winning, finally smiled brightly at the end of the season.

Lee So-mi won the SK Networks·Seoul Economic Ladies Classic, which concluded on the 30th at Pinx Golf Club (par 72) in Seogwipo, Jeju, part of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour.

In the final round of the tournament, Lee So-mi recorded seven birdies and three bogeys for a 4-under-par 68, finishing with a total score of 18-under-par 270 to lift the winner's trophy. She won by a perfect five-stroke margin over the tied second-place group. This was her first victory of the season and her first win in 14 months since the Daeyu Winia·MBN Women's Open in August last year. Since debuting on the KLPGA Tour in 2019, Lee So-mi has now achieved her fourth career win with this victory.

Lee So-mi's early pace in the final round as the sole leader was not good. She started off well with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4), but immediately made a bogey on the 2nd hole (par 3), and lost strokes with consecutive bogeys on the 5th and 6th holes, temporarily surrendering the lead to Lee Jeong-eun6 (26).

However, from the latter part of the front nine, she began to dominate her competitors with completely different play. She recorded three consecutive birdies from the 7th to 9th holes, rising to a tie for the lead with Lee Jeong-eun6. Lee So-mi then made back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, reducing her score and pulling ahead as the sole leader.

After that, Lee So-mi continued her solo run. While Lee Ga-young steadily made pars and played a stable game, Lee Jeong-eun6, Lee Ga-young (23), and Park Hyun-kyung (22) lost strokes, widening the gap from the leader.

After the 17th hole, Lee So-mi had extended her lead to four strokes over the second-place group, effectively securing her victory. On the final 18th hole (par 4), Lee So-mi celebrated her win by sinking a long-distance birdie putt.

Lee So-mi said, "Until the 6th hole, I was a bit nervous because it was my first time in the champion group in a while. I felt I was being too greedy, so from the 7th hole, I focused on myself, which I think was the driving force behind my victory."

Having received the winner's prize money of 144 million won, Lee So-mi also rose to 11th place in the season money rankings with 584.5 million won.

Lee So-mi, who recorded her first KLPGA Tour win at the 2020 Huencare Women's Open, showed steady progress last year with two wins at the Lotte Rent-a-Car Women's Open and the Daeyu Winia MBN Women's Open. However, this year, despite finishing in the top 10 nine times including one runner-up finish before this tournament, she had not won a single event.

Park Hyun-kyung (22), who reduced her score by one stroke on the day, finished second with a total of 13-under-par 275. Kim Su-ji (26), along with Jung Yoon-ji (22) and Lee Ga-young (23), tied for third place, firmly maintaining her lead in the points race for the Player of the Year. Lee Jeong-eun6 (26), who challenged for her first KLPGA Tour win in four years since winning the 2018 KB Financial Star Championship, finished tied for sixth with Yoo Hae-ran (21).

Meanwhile, in a gesture of mourning for the victims of the crush accident that occurred the previous day in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, no winner's celebration ceremony was held.

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