Cha Ji-won (47) became the winner of the first round of the KLPGA Champions Classic 2021 (total prize of 70 million won, winning prize of 10.5 million won).
Cha Ji-won lifted the championship trophy on the 17th at the Gunsan Country Club (par 72/5,761 yards) Buan (OUT) and Namwon (IN) courses located in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do. Exactly one year later, he reached the top of the Champions Tour.
Cha Ji-won, who finished tied for 4th in the first round, showed her back in the final round. He looked like he was shaking when he recorded a bogey on the first hole, but he managed to bounce back by recording a birdie on the next hole. Cha Ji-won, who added three birdies on the remaining hole, recorded a final total of 5-under 139 (70-69), beating Kim Seon-mi (48), who won the prize money last year, by one stroke to win the championship.
| Cha Ji-won poses for a commemorative photo with the trophy right after winning the first round of the KLPGA Champions Classic 2021 on the 17th. Photo = Courtesy of KLPGA |
Exactly one year after lifting the trophy for the 8th round of the ‘KLPGA Lakeside Champions Classic 2020’ on September 17 last year, I took the trophy in my arms.
Cha Ji-won said, “Weirdly, there are a lot of wins in September. I played hard one hole and one hole without being greedy to win, and I’m really happy that I even won the championship.” It worked. The recovery went well, and I think I was able to win the championship by dropping long putts well. I’m happy.”
He continued, “Actually, I recorded a bogey on the first hole and thought, ‘Bogey on the first hole is medicine, and when a birdie chance comes, I catch it as much as possible and hit it while repeating, ‘Let’s only get into the top ten and, furthermore, the top five.” It’s an honor. I sincerely thank the KLPGA for hosting the tournament even during this difficult time for the players on the Champions Tour.”
Cha Ji-won joined the KLPGA as an associate member at the age of 39 through competition with young players in the 2nd round of the ‘KLPGA 2011 Grand-Pacomery Jump Tour (games 5-8). He was active on the Jump Tour until 2013, then moved to the Champions Tour in 2015.
After achieving his first win in the 10th round of the ‘KLPGA 2017 Youngwang CC-Volvik Champions Open’ held in 2017, he continued to compete and build his skills. In October 2018, I tasted the joy of being promoted to a regular member in the 15th game of the ‘KLPGA Champions Classic 2018. Since establishing a monumental achievement for promotion to full membership, he has been showing steady performance by recording one win every year from 2019 to now.
| Cha Ji-won won the first round of the KLPGA Champions Classic 2021 on the 17th. Photo = Courtesy of KLPGA |
While preparing for this season, Cha Ji-won had the thought of wanting to win the prize money. The tournament was not held due to unfavorable circumstances, so this year, I was determined to train hard during the coming winter while taking lessons and practicing at the same time. I will practice a lot until the next competition and do my best to achieve good results in the next competition.”
Meanwhile, Seon-mi Kim, the champion of the 2020 season, finished second with a final total of 4 under par 140 (69-71). Hyung-soon Boo (50), who took the lead by one stroke in the first round and increased her chances of winning for the first time in her career, recorded only one bogey without a birdie in the final round and recorded a final total of 3-under par 141 (68-73), recording the same number of strokes. 2 (46) and Seo Ye-sun (50) finished the game in a tie for third place.
Hosted and supervised by KLPGA, the final round of the tournament will be recorded and broadcast from 19:30 on the 28th through SBS Golf, the host broadcaster.
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