Lee Joo-mi wins first KLPGA title at Mediheal Championship

Lee Joo-mi won the KLPGA Mediheal & Hankook Ilbo Championship at Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi on Sunday, beating inaugural champion Park Ji-young to take her first ever title.

Lee Joo-mi plays a shot during the KLPGA Mediheal & Hankook Ilbo Championship at Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi on Saturday. [KLPGA]

Lee Joo-mi won the KLPGA Mediheal & Hankook Ilbo Championship at Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi on Sunday, beating inaugural champion Park Ji-young to take her first ever title.

The Mediheal Championship started just last year and Park Ji-young was looking to defend her title as she was the frontrunner on moving day.

The defending champion could not maintain that momentum in the fourth round, however, and tied for eighth-place with seven-under-par, 281.

Park Hyun-kyung and Park Min-ji were in joint second place until the end of the third round, but Lee Joo-mi managed two consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes in the fourth found to snatch the top spot.

The 28-year-old ultimately managed 12-under-par, 276, surpassing second-place Park Hyun-kyung with a margin of two strokes to be crowned champion.

Lee Joo-mi, who made her KLPGA debut in 2015, had never won a KLPGA title before Sunday, despite having competed in 147 events. Her previous best finish was fifth place at the Daebo hausD Open in July 2021.

Despite missing out on the top spot, Lee has maintained a consistent presence in the KLPGA, finishing each season high enough in the money rankings to retain her Tour card. She finished the 2022 KLPGA Tour in 58th of the money rankings.

“I cannot believe that I won,” Lee Joo-mi said after the event. “I thought I was going to cry a lot but I can’t really focus on anything.

“I competed today thinking that repeating my best fifth finish would be enough, but I was surprised when I saw the score on the 16th hole.”

Meanwhile, Lee Ye-won, who had won the Lotte Rent-a-Car Ladies Open on April 9, failed to shine in the event as she tied for 18th with three-under-par, 285.

The Mediheal championship was fiercely competitive as five golfers — Kim Min-byeol, Kim Su-ji, Park Min-ji, Lee Ga-young and Jun Ye-sung — tied for third place with nine-under-par, 279.

The KLPGA, which resumed earlier this month, will continue on Friday as the three-day, 54-hole stroke play Nexen-Saintnine Masters tees off at Gaya Country Club in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang.

The Nexen-Saintnine Masters will be the third event on the 2023 KLPGA Tour, after the Lotte Rent-a-Car Ladies Open last week and the Mediheal & Hankook Ilbo Championship over the weekend.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]