"Little Giant" Hwang Yumin: "I am also a Rookie Champion"

Daewoo Winia Wins MBN Women's Open in Playoff
Second Rookie Champion After Bang Sin-sil
Kim Min-byeol 2nd, Han Jin-seon 3rd, Bang Sin-sil 4th Strong Performance

‘The Little Giant’ Hwang Yu-min wins the Rookie title.

On the 9th, at Daeyu Mongber Country Club Brengtang·Ette Course (Par 72·6590 yards) in Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Hwang Yu-min shot 6-under par in the final 3rd round of the KLPGA Tour Daeyu Winia·MBN Women's Open (total prize money 1 billion KRW), tying with ‘Super Rookie’ Kim Min-byeol at 13-under par 203. He then clinched the victory with a winning birdie on the first hole of the playoff at the 18th hole (par 4). Following Bang Shin-sil (EI Charity Open), he became the second rookie champion of the season, receiving a winner's prize of 180 million KRW.

Hwang Yumin is teeing off at the 2nd hole of the final 3rd round of the Daewoo Winia·MBN Women's Open.
[Photo by KLPGA]

Hwang Yu-min started tied for the lead by one stroke and swept up six birdies without any bogeys. He reduced three strokes in the front nine with birdies on holes 4, 8, and 9, maintaining his contention for the title. In the back nine, he showed resilience with consecutive birdies on holes 14 and 15 and a 4.66m birdie putt on the final 18th hole. In the playoff, Hwang’s second shot landed 2 meters from the hole, while Kim Min-byeol found the rough near the green, leading to contrasting fortunes.

Hwang Yu-min is a promising player who has served as a national team ace. Last year, as an amateur, she made a strong impression by finishing runner-up at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship. Despite her small stature of 163cm, she is a long hitter with an average drive distance of 257 yards (3rd place). Hwang currently leads the rookie points standings. She tearfully said, "I wanted to win while my grandfather was still here, and I fulfilled that dream," adding, "I want to be a player who plays boldly and confidently."

Kim Min-byeol fought hard, lowering her score by six strokes but fell short at the final hurdle. This marks her second runner-up finish following last month’s major DB Group Korea Women's Open playoff. Han Jin-seon finished 3rd (12-under par 204), ‘Rising Star’ Bang Shin-sil 4th (11-under par 205), Choi Min-kyung 5th (10-under par 206), Hwang Jeong-mi 6th (9-under par 207), and Kim Su-ji, Kim Jae-hee, and Noh Seung-hee tied for 7th (8-under par 208). Defending champion Lee So-young finished tied for 22nd (5-under par 211).

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