Prize King Park Minji, a Brilliant Season Finale... Becomes the Active Player with the Most Wins

6 Wins This Season Following Last Year... Achieves 16 Career Wins
Kim Suji Maintains Top 10, Wins Two Crowns for MVP and Lowest Score

Park Min-ji is teeing off at the 4th hole during the 3rd round of the KLPGA Tour SK Shielders·SK Telecom Championship held on the 13th at La Vie Belle CC in Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do.
[Image source=KLPGA]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] Park Minji (24) capped off the season with a spectacular finale by winning the final event of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. Achieving six wins this season following last year, she reached a total of 16 career victories, securing the sole first place for the most wins among active players.

On the 13th, at the Ravie Belle Country Club (par 72, 6,835 yards) in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Park Minji shot an even-par 70 with three birdies and three bogeys in the third round of the KLPGA Tour SK Shielders·SK Telecom Championship (total prize money of 1 billion KRW).

With a final total of 9-under-par 207, Park Minji edged out second-place An Songyi (32) by two strokes to claim the top spot.

Leading by two strokes after the second round the previous day, Park extended her lead by three strokes with three birdies through the 11th hole (par 5) amid rainy conditions. Although she made her first bogey at the 14th hole (par 4), she maintained a comfortable lead of three strokes over the runner-up.

This victory marked Park Minji’s sixth win this year and her 16th career win on the KLPGA Tour, the most among active players. Before this tournament, she was tied with Jang Hana (30) at 15 wins.

Looking ahead to next season, she is within reach of the all-time record for most wins. The record stands at 20 wins, held by Shin Ji-ae (34), who now competes on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour, and the late Ku Okhee, former KLPGA president. Following them is Ko Woo-soon (58) with 17 wins.

Additionally, with the 200 million KRW winner’s prize added, Park Minji’s total career earnings reached 5,038,460,000 KRW, making her the second player in KLPGA history to surpass 5 billion KRW in total prize money. The leader in this category is Jang Hana with 5,761,840,000 KRW.

This season, Park Minji set both the first and second highest single-season earnings records in KLPGA Tour history.

Her earnings of 1,477,920,000 KRW this season rank second all-time, with the top spot held by her own record of 1,521,370,000 KRW set last year. Third place is Park Sung-hyun (29) with 1,333,090,000 KRW in 2016.

Continuing her upward trajectory since last year, she achieved the titles of leading winner and top money earner for two consecutive years, along with six wins per season for two straight years.

Winning the most tournaments for two consecutive years is a feat not seen on the KLPGA Tour for 14 years since Shin Ji-ae’s three consecutive years as leading winner from 2006 to 2008.

Notably, Park Minji has won 12 out of 47 tournaments over the past two years, boasting a winning percentage of 25.5%.

Meanwhile, Kim Suji (26), who finished tied for 7th with a total of 3-under-par 213, secured the season titles for both the Player of the Year and lowest scoring average. The Rookie of the Year award went to Lee Yewon (19).

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