Yang Hee-young Becomes First Ever 'Major Queen'... Also Secures 'Olympic Ticket'

Major KPMG Women's PGA Championship Victory
6th Career Win Since Last Year's Final, Prize Money 2.2 Billion KRW
First Korean Win in 16 Tournaments, Ending Collaborative Slump

Yang Hee-young has ascended to the title of ‘Major Queen.’

Yang Hee-young is smiling at the 3rd hole of the 4th round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. [Sammishi, USA = AFP·Yonhap News]

On the 23rd (local time), at Sahalee Country Club (par 72, 6,754 yards) in Sammamish, Washington, USA, the third major tournament of the year on the LPGA Tour, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (total prize money $10.4 million), concluded. Yang shot an even-par round in the 4th round to secure a 3-stroke victory (7-under 281). This marked her 6th career win, her first in 7 months since last November’s CME Group Tour Championship, earning a winner’s prize of $1.56 million (approximately 2.2 billion KRW). Her previous best major finishes were runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2012 and 2015. Korea collected a major championship trophy for the first time in two years since Jeon In-ji won this tournament in June 2022.

With Yang Hee-young’s victory, Korea achieved its first win in 16 tournaments since the start of this year. This ended the longest ‘win drought after the season opener’ in 24 years since 2000. Ranked 25th in the world, Yang had difficulty qualifying for the Paris Olympics this August, but by capturing a major and accumulating ranking points, she dramatically secured her spot on the Olympic stage. In the women’s division, if a player enters the top 15 in the world rankings released immediately after this tournament, up to four players from one country can participate.

Yang started the final round with a 2-stroke lead, recording 5 birdies, 3 bogeys, and 1 double bogey. After a birdie on the 1st hole was canceled out by a bogey on the 3rd hole (both par 4s), she added birdies on the 5th and 8th holes to widen the gap from her competitors. A bogey on the 10th hole (par 4) was quickly recovered with a birdie on the 11th hole (par 5), and she further lowered her score by one stroke on the 13th hole (par 3), effectively securing her victory early. Although she made a bogey on the 16th hole (par 4) and a double bogey on the 17th hole (par 3), these did not affect her winning score. Her powerful drives, averaging 279 yards, stood out.

Yang Hee-young is known as a ‘quiet powerhouse.’ She emigrated to Australia with her parents at age 15 and began playing golf seriously. She distinguished herself by winning various amateur and professional tournaments. With a solid physique and flexible swing, she was called the ‘second Park Se-ri.’ Among her 6 LPGA Tour wins, she claimed 3 victories at the Honda Thailand tournament. Currently, she has no sponsor. Even when she won the CME Group Tour Championship last November, she had no main sponsor. In this tournament, she wore a hat adorned with a ‘smile pattern.’ This year, she struggled somewhat due to lingering minor injuries. Before this tournament, she had never finished in the top 10. She was experiencing slight back pain but took medication and received physical therapy to compete, ultimately tasting the sweet fruit of victory.

Ko Jin-young lowered her score by one stroke to finish tied for 2nd place (4-under 284), marking her best personal result this year. World No. 2 Lilia Vu (USA) also joined this group. This marks a two-week winning streak following her victory at last week’s Meijer Classic. Ally Ewing and Lauren Hartlage (both USA) finished tied for 5th place (3-under 285). Yoo Hae-ran ended the tournament tied for 9th place (1-under 287).

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