(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-ho = Park Bo-gyeom reached the top of the KB Financial Golden Life Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won), the third major tournament of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour season, achieving her 4th personal win.
Bo-Gyeom Park hit 1 under par 71 with 3 birdies and 2 bogeys in the 4th round on the final day of the tournament held at Blackstone Golf Club Icheon (par 72) in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do on the 13th.
Park Bo-gyeom, who recorded a final total of 5 under par 283 strokes, narrowly beat Park Ye-ji, Bang Shin-sil, and Yoo Seo-yeon (4 under par 284 strokes), who tied for 2nd place, by one stroke, and became the winner of the championship trophy and 270 million won in prize money.
With this, Park Bo-gyeom won his fourth career win in this year's Masugeolgi, and also achieved the double victory of his first major championship in his career.
Park Bo-gyeom, who joined in September 2017, continued his unique history of winning one win every year starting in 2023.
It was not an easy win.
Park Bo-gyeom, who started the 4th round in a tie for 2nd place, 1 stroke behind Park Ye-ji, who started the 3rd round as the leader, made birdies on the 1st and 3rd holes, but was unable to reduce the number of strokes due to bogeys in succession on the 5th and 7th holes, and completed under par with a birdie on the 8th hole (par 4).
Park Bo-gyeom made par with stable play without any bogeys in the second half, ultimately becoming the winner.
The match was decided at the 16th hole (par 3).
When Yoo Seo-yeon, who was tied for the lead, missed the par putt and made bogey, Park Bo-gyeom saved par and jumped into the lead by one stroke with two holes remaining, predicting victory.
The two also recorded par on the 17th hole (par 4).
In the final 18th hole (par 5), Yoo Seo-yeon failed to drop a birdie putt and was unable to turn the game around, and Park Bo-gyeom successfully saved par and completed the win.
Park Bo-gyeom smiled brightly, saying, "This week was long but rewarding because I was able to win a major tournament, which is my personal goal. I got this luck because I have many good people around me."
He said, "It was a difficult match in the first to fourth rounds. I didn't try to do too well on the last day. Blackstone Golf Club is a place where mistakes happen if you try to do too well," and added, "I tried to place the ball in a place where I could easily make a birdie putt, which led to good results."
Park Bo-gyeom, who was far from winning after achieving a total of 3 wins in March of last year, said, "When I started this season, I wasn't in good shape. I even thought, 'I win once a year, can I do it again?'" He added, "I waited patiently and calmly because people around me said a lot of good things. I win one every year, but I really want to win more this year."
On the other hand, Seo-yeon Yoo took the lead until the 13th hole (par 3), but made two bogeys on the 14th hole (par 4) and the 16th hole, and only scored an even par 72 on the day, wasting the opportunity to win her first major championship in her career.
Seo Gyo-rim entered the fourth round in a tie for 6th place, recorded 1 under par 71 strokes with 4 birdies and 3 bogeys, and took 5th place with a final total of 3 under par 285 strokes.
Seo Gyo-rim accumulated a cumulative prize money of 1,381,766,000 won this season, knocking down Kim Min-sol (1,375,29,428 won) to second place and regaining the top spot in the prize money rankings.
In addition, Seo Gyo-rim (563 points), who added 44 target points, widened the gap with 2nd place Kim Min-sol (435 points) to 127 points and set out to solidify first place.
Kim Min-sol, a partner of 'Rimsol Daejeon', performed poorly in the final round with a 3-over-par 75 and finished the tournament with a final total of 9-over-par 297 and a tie for 47th place.
