Lee Dayeon "Cheers for 3rd Overtime"... "Did You See the 9m Winning Birdie?" (Summary)

Hana Financial Group Championship FR 3 Under Par
Second Win of the Season Since April KLPGA Championship
Minjee Lee and Tawattananakit 'Lost in Playoff'

"9m winning birdie." The 'Little Giant' Lee Da-yeon defended her home turf.

On the 24th, at the Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon (par 72, 6712 yards), Lee Da-yeon finished the 4th round of the KLPGA Tour Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money 1.5 billion KRW) by reducing 3 strokes to tie with world No. 7 Minjee Lee (Australia) and 2021 LPGA Rookie of the Year Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand) at 8 under par 280. Then, on the third hole of the playoff resumed at the 18th hole (par 4), she made the 'winning birdie.' This is her second win of the season and eighth career victory, five months after the major KLPGA Championship in April, with a winner's prize of 270 million KRW.

Lee Dayeon is cheering behind after making a winning birdie on the third hole of the playoff at the Hana Financial Group Championship.
[Photo by KLPGA]

Lee Da-yeon started from a tie for 4th place, 3 strokes behind, and recorded 4 birdies and 1 bogey. She reduced 2 strokes in the front nine with birdies on the 3rd and 6th holes, but the birdie on the 13th hole (par 4) was canceled out by a bogey on the 14th hole (par 3). Lee Da-yeon made a birdie on the 16th hole (par 3) to join the playoff. In the first playoff hole, Tavatanakit was eliminated after making a bogey, and on the third playoff hole, Lee Da-yeon cheered as she sank a 9-meter downhill putt to secure the victory. This is her first playoff win since her debut.

Lee Da-yeon said, "I comforted myself by thinking that even if I lost, I would be second," and explained, "For the winning putt, rather than safely aiming to get it close, I played aggressively aiming for birdie." She added, "It was such a dramatic comeback victory that I cried without realizing it," and said, "I want to win once more at the last major tournament, the Hite Jinro Championship." Minjee Lee lost in a playoff again, following the 2021 edition of this tournament. Especially, missing a par putt of just over 1 meter on the second playoff hole was a regretful moment that cost her the victory.

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