Yoon Ina, returned from exile, looks for a win at Yongpyong Open

Yoon Ina returns to the McCol-Mona Park Yongpyong Open teeing off at Birch Hill Country Club in Gangwon on Friday after managing a runner-up finish at the KLPGA tournament in 2022.

Yoon Ina hits a shot during the McCol-Mona Park Yongpyong Open at the Fortune Hills Country Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi on June 21. [NEWS1]

Yoon Ina returns to the McCol-Mona Park Yongpyong Open teeing off at Birch Hill Country Club in Gangwon on Friday after managing a runner-up finish at the KLPGA tournament in 2022.

Yoon joins the 132-field for the three-day 54-stroke play event with a 144 million won ($103,000) prize pot on the line. This year marks her return to the competition after being absent from the Tour last season due to a three-year suspension that was cut to 18 months earlier this year.

The 21-year-old faced the three-year suspension from the Korea Golf Association (KGA) and KLPGA for playing the wrong ball at the 2022 Korea Women's Open during the first round of the DB Group Korea Women’s Open Golf Championship on June 16, 2022.

But the KGA reduced her suspension to 18 months in September last year, and the KLPGA did the same in January, allowing her to compete on the Tour from the 2024 season opener Doosan E&C We’ve Championship in April.

Since making her comeback, Yoon has been in good form with five top-10 finishes in 11 KLPGA events, although she has yet to win a title this season. The McCol-Mona Park Yongpyong Open could be the chance to change that — the runner-up finish there in 2022 is where she first started to make a name for herself.

She joins the McCol-Mona Park Yongpyong Open on the back of a joint runner-up finish at the BC Card-Hankyung Ladies Cup last week, where she lost the title to Park Hyun-kyung after a playoff.

Winning this week’s competition will be Yoon’s second victory on the Tour after the Evercollagen Queens Crown in July 2022.

The tournament will see strong contenders like defending champion Ko Ji-u, who secured her first win on the Tour at the competition last year.

“It will be a little tough as I competed in all 14 events in 2024, but I am still in good form as I’ve saved my stamina,” Ko said in a press release Tuesday. “I played offensively, aiming for birdies, but I’ve matured in terms of how to play in a tournament.”

To make the tournament more competitive, BC Card Cup champion Park will be in the field alongside Lee Ye-won, who has already won three KLPGA titles this year.

“I’ve been continuing a good flow with a better momentum than last year,” Lee said. “It would be good to win my fourth title before the first half of the season finishes, but I am trying not to be too greedy.”

The 2024 KLPGA season runs through November.

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