Young Golfer Gets Seventh Win of Season

19-year-old golfer Shin Ji-ae lifted her seventh champion trophy of this season yesterday.

At the last round of the KLPGA’s Samsung Finance Ladies’ Championship played at the par-72 Phoenix Park GC in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, Shin hit a 2-under-par 70 with four birdies and two bogeys, which was sufficient to earn her the winner’s trophy with an overall score of 8-under-par 208.

24-year-old Moon Hyun-hee managed to hit a surprising 7-under 65 on the last day, which put her in second place, two strokes behind Shin.

Shin once again broke the KLPGA’s single season win record at six, also set by herself, and pocketed an additional 60 million won, which puts her about 18 million won behind the all-time career money leader, Chung Il-mi, who earned about 886 million won.

Cho Yoon-hee, the oldest daughter of former baseball player Cho Chang-soo and volleyball star Cho Hye-chung, started the day sharing the lead with Shin but lost four strokes and finished tied for fifth with an overall score of 2-under-214. Ahn Sun-joo also shared the lead with Shin until the ninth hole, but a double bogey at the par-4 10th hole forced her to settle for third place.

kjs0123@donga.com