Hong Jung-min wins Wemeix championship

Hong Jung-min, this season’s Korea LPGA Tour money leader, added 300 million won to her earnings by winning the Wemeix Championship, an invitational event. The victory also eased her frustration at finishing the season as a co-leader in total wins after failing to secure another victory following her three regular-season titles.

On Nov. 16 at the Mauna Ocean Country Club in Gyeongju, a par-71 course, Hong shot a four-under 67 with five birdies and one bogey in Final Group A of the Wemeet Championship. She had advanced to the final group by defeating Han Jin-sun in match play the previous day.

Hong posted the lowest score among the 12 players in the group to claim the title. The tournament features the top 24 players in Wemeet points, with the 12 first-day match play winners advancing to Final Group A to compete for the championship. Wind gusts up to 2.7 meters per second and firm, glass-like greens made scoring difficult, but Hong surged ahead early with consecutive birdies on the par-5 first hole and par-3 second hole and held on to win.

Hong, who topped the KLPGA Tour money list this season with about 1.34 billion won, added 300 million won with Sunday’s victory to bring her season total to 1.64 billion won. Although the event does not count toward official KLPGA Tour records, her total exceeds the single-season earnings record of roughly 1.52 billion won set by Park Min-ji.

Hong also finished the season sharing the top spot in total wins. She captured her first victory of the year at the KLPGA Championship, the season’s opening major, and ended with three wins. She also placed second three times and missed several other opportunities. With three victories, she tied for the most wins of the season with Bang Sin-sil and Lee Ye-won.

Hwang Yu-min, known as the "Vanguard" and scheduled to join the LPGA Tour after this tournament, shot even par in the final round of Group A and finished tied for fifth.


경주=김정훈 기자 hun@donga.com