Yoo Yoo-na (21-Taewang Honours) earned her debut victory 655 days (1 year, 9 months, 17 days) after becoming a full member of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA).

The Buan (OUT) and Namwon (IN) courses (par 72-6400 yards) at Gunsan Country Club in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, hosted the sixth round of the 2023 KLPGA MC Square-Gunsan CC Dream Tour (2nd Division) on 24-26 April with a total prize fund of 100 million won.

Yoo took home the first prize of 15 million won after defeating Lee Sun-young 2 (23-ONOFF GOLF) in a four-way playoff after finishing the regular round at 16-under-par 200.토토사이트

Lee won her first title after 47 appearances, including 28 matches on the 2022 Regular Tour (1st Division), 7 matches on the 2023 Dream Tour, and 12 matches on the 2021 Jump Tour (3rd Division). The total prize money for women’s professional golf in Korea is now 85.63 million won.

Yoo said, “I’m very happy for my first win as a professional. I didn’t even think about winning, but I played calmly and without pressure, and I think the good results followed,” she said.

Her best result in a KLPGA event was a runner-up finish in the 12th round of the 2021 Solar Jump Tour. She rode the momentum of her sixth-place finish in the previous event of the season, her first top-10 finish on the Dream Tour, to the top.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my parents, Taewang Honours Chairman Noh Ki-won and Director Noh Kyung-won, and Daegu Country Club President Woo Ki-jeong for their support,” Yoo said.

As an amateur, Yoo won the 12th Jeollanam-do Governor’s Cup in 2017 and topped the national rankings in the women’s middle school division. In November 2021, she qualified for the 2022 KLPGA Regular Tour by finishing second in the seeding event.

However, she only made seven cuts (25 per cent) in her first year on the tour. After 21 cuts, she finished 98th on the money list. She was eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the seeding competition, ending her chances of remaining on the 2023 Regular Tour.

“It was really hard (this year) because I didn’t play well. I almost lost my love for golf, but after hearing my mum say, ‘You’re still young, do whatever you want to do,’ I felt a lot better,” she said, revealing how she rebounded with back-to-back top-10 finishes and a debut win on the Dream Tour.

“I went to Thailand for 50 days of training,” said Yoo, who reflected that her putts were her biggest deficiency on the regular tour last season. I worked really hard on my short game, especially my putts,” she said, recalling her winter training in preparation for the 2023 season.

Eugena surged to second on the 2023 Dream Tour money list. “I had two goals, to get my first win in the second division and to return to the regular tour, and I achieved one. I will improve my technique and aim for one more win in the second half of the year to win the prize money,” she said.

The final round of the tournament, co-presented by MC Square and Gunsan Country Club and organised by the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Tour (KLPGT), will be televised on SBS Golf on 6 June at 6.30pm.