'Daddy, I'll Buy You a Watch'Fantastic 18-meter birdie putt, super rookie Yoo Hyun-jo, debuting in a major tournament...Winning Rookie Award
Sep 08, 2024
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Sung Yu-jin, who was chasing Yoo Hyun-jo by one stroke in the championship group, defended the stroke by making a mid-range par putt, but the two-stroke difference was decisive ahead of the last 18th hole.
In the end, Yoo Hyun-jo had a stable tee shot on the 18th hole (par 5), while Sung Yu-jin, who was burdened, was pushed to the right and entered the forest, and the game was completely tilted.
Rookie Yoo Hyun-jo (19, Samchully) became the final winner of the 'War of Stars'. He won his first championship in his 19th major competition, earning 216 million won in prize money. I will be able to buy you my first win gift watch that I promised my dad.
In the final fourth round of the KB Financial Group Star Championship held at Blackstone Icheon Golf Club's North and West Course (par 72) on the 8th, Yoo Hyun-jo reduced two strokes with five birdies and recorded a total of 13-under 275 strokes to win by two strokes. He was the first rookie winner of the KB Financial Group Star Championship and the 10th rookie winner of the major tournament. So far, there have been nine rookie wins in the KLPGA major tournament. Seven of them have won their first major championships.
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Yoon Na-na, who cut two strokes with six birdies and four bogeys, finished the competition in third place with a final 10-under 278.
Yoo Hyun-jo, who finished the third round the previous day with a 10-under-par solo lead, passed the cut 17 times out of the previous 18 competitions.
He was listed in the top 10 four times and in the top five once. He also tried to win the championship, but he failed to overcome the last crisis.
"I think it's a good experience, but I think I've found a way to overcome the pain when it collapsed," Yoo Hyun-jo said. "Before, I didn't play well, so there were times when I let myself go without realizing it. I will not give up until the end now," he said, renewing his determination for the final round.
After winning the championship, Yoo Hyun-jo actually said, `I promised not to give up until the end as I did in the interview yesterday, and even if I wasn't the first place, I wanted to raise the ranking as much as possible, so I played without giving up.'
It was exactly what it was.
The beginning was off to a shaky start. Yoo Hyun-jo gave up the lead to Bae So-hyun, who cut three shots in the first half alone with consecutive bogeys on holes 5 and 6. But there was no giving up.
He regained the lead by making three consecutive birdies with a fantastic shot from the ninth hole. After birdie at the 13th hole (par 3), he caught a fantastic long-distance putt at the 17th hole, which was leading by one stroke, to seal the victory.
Bae So-hyun, who aimed to win for the second consecutive week in the championship group, was easily pushed out of the lead with three bogeys in the second half. However, he birdied the last 18 holes and finished the tournament tied for fourth with Kim Soo-ji and Kim Jae-hee with a 9-under 279.
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Lee Da-yeon, Lee Ye-won, Hyun Se-rin, Hong Jung-min tied for 10th with a 5-under 283.
Photo courtesy = KLPGA
hschung@sportschosun.com
