(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Kyung-yoon = The 'Solim Battle' between Kim Min-sol and Seo Gyo-rim, friends of the same age born in 2006, ended with Kim Min-sol's victory.
Minsol Kim hit 6 under par 66 in the third round on the last day of the Daebo House D Championship (total prize money of 1.2 billion won) of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour final match held at the Seowon Hills West/South Course (par 72, 6,649 yards) in Paju, Gyeonggi-do on the 8th, and tied for 6th place with a final total of 8 under par 208 strokes.
On the other hand, Seo Gyo-rim performed poorly on this day with a score of 5 over par and 77 strokes, and finished tied for 52nd with a final total of 4 over par and 220 strokes.
Kim Min-sol received 42 grand prize points and recorded 567 cumulative points, beating Seo Gyo-rim (563 points) by 4 points and winning her first grand prize.
In addition, with a cumulative prize money of 1,628,439,428 won, she beat Seo Gyo-rim (1,428,960,000 won) and became the prize money winner.
Kim Min-sol, who has already been confirmed as Rookie of the Year, won the grand prize, Rookie of the Year, and Prize Money titles for the first time since Ji-ae Shin in 2006.
After the game, Kim Min-sol said, "Last year, I unfortunately couldn't win the Rookie of the Year award due to the lack of regular tour games, but it was good to be able to confirm the Rookie of the Year award quickly this year. I tried to erase the competition for the grand prize from my mind, but in fact, I calculated it yesterday. I thought I should hit around 6 under par, so I played while cherishing every moment today."
He then smiled, saying, “I won the grand prize in my rookie season and would like to evaluate myself as a 100-point season.”
When asked about the competition with Seo Kyo-rim, he said, "Regardless of the results, we both worked hard for a year. I think we were very stressed at the end of the season. We decided to have a meal together after the season, and then we will talk about what we haven't shared before."
Regarding winning the Rookie of the Year, Grand Prize, and Prize money titles for the first time in 20 years, he said, "It is an honor just to follow the path that pro Shin Ji-ae took," and "I want to become a consistently good player."
Minsol Kim passed the cut in all 25 competitions she participated in this season.
He won the championship three times, placed second four times, and finished third twice.
Kim Min-sol said, "I went into the season thinking that passing the preliminaries was the most important thing. There were a few times when I was on the verge of failing to make the cut, but I didn't give up and tried to do my best. I think trying to focus on the process rather than the result led to good results."
The friendly competition between Kim Min-sol and Seo Kyo-rim was one of the main attractions of the KLPGA tour this season.
The two players shared two wins each in four competitions held last June, forming a tight rivalry.
Golf fans showed interest and nicknamed it 'Solim Daejeon' or 'Imsol Daejeon' after the two players.
The two players, who were fiercely competing for the prize money and grand prize until the end of the season, tilted in favor of Kim Min-sol as Seo Gyo-rim faltered due to pain in his right rib.
Seo Gyo-rim did not participate in the 20th S-Oil Championship last month, and performed poorly in the final Daebo House D Championship, losing the major title to Kim Min-sol.
Seo Kyo-rim ranked first in most wins with four wins this season, but had to be satisfied with second place in terms of grand prize points, prize money, and average strokes.
Meanwhile, Yoo Hyeon-jo, winner of the Daebo House D Championship, took first place in average at-bats.
