Sung Yujin Finishes 2nd as 'Invited Player' Sensation... Grace Kim Wins

LPGA Tour Lotte Championship Ends in Disappointment After Playoff

Seong Yujin, who participated as an 'invited player,' narrowly missed out on victory after a playoff in the LPGA Tour Lotte Championship (total prize money $2 million) held in the United States.

Sung Yu-jin is looking at the ball after taking a shot on the 5th hole of the final 4th round at the Lotte Championship (total prize money $2 million) of the LPGA Tour held on the 16th at Hoakalei Country Club (Par 72, 6,303 yards) in Ewa Beach, Oahu Island, Hawaii, USA.
[Photo by Daehong Planning]

On the 16th, Seong Yujin shot a 3-under-par 69 with 4 birdies and 1 bogey in the final 4th round of the tournament held at Hoakalei Country Club (par 72, 6,303 yards) in Ewa Beach, Oahu Island, Hawaii. She finished with a total score of 12-under-par 276, tied with Grace Kim (Australia) and Liu Wei (China), and entered a playoff. However, in the first playoff held on the 18th hole (par 5), she missed a birdie while Grace Kim, a Korean-Australian, made a birdie to claim the championship.

Seong Yujin received an invitation to this tournament after winning her first career victory in her fourth year since debut at the KLPGA Tour Lotte Open in June last year. She led the leaderboard in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, signaling a strong performance as an invited player, but was unable to overcome the playoff hurdle. A regrettable moment was her third shot near the green, which went far past the hole and landed in the rough on the opposite side.

The winner of this tournament, Grace Kim, is a rookie who joined the LPGA Tour this year after ranking 5th in the 2nd-tier tour money list last year. She claimed her first LPGA Tour victory in just her third tournament. Following last year's US Women's Open champion Minjee Lee, she became the 12th Australian player to win on the LPGA Tour. The winner's prize money was $300,000 (approximately 390 million KRW).

Among Korean players, Hwang Yumin, who also participated as an invited player, finished tied for 9th place with a total score of 8-under-par 280. Additionally, Choi Hyejin finished tied for 13th (6-under-par 282), and defending champion Kim Hyoju recorded a total of 1-over-par 289, finishing tied for 49th place.

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