Rookie of the Year 2020 Rookie of the Year Yoo Hae-ran succeeded in achieving his first win in the 2021 season.
Yoo Hae-ran is the final round of the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour El Crew-TV Chosun Pro Celebrity (total prize of 600 million won, winning prize of 108 million won) held at Ansan Island Country Club (par 72, 6613 yards) in Gyeonggi-do on the 26th. hit a 5-under 67 with 7 birdies and 2 bogeys.
With this, Yoo Hae-ran, who recorded a final total of 13-under 203, went into overtime with Choi Hye-jin and the same stroke. In the first overtime, both players recorded a birdie, while Yoo Hae-ran caught a birdie in the second overtime, overtaking Choi Hye-jin and lifting the trophy.
Yoo Hae-ran won the El Crew-TV Chosun Celebrity 2021 event. Photo = Courtesy of KLGPA
With this win, Yoo Hae-ran achieved his first win of the season and his third career win (including one amateur win).
Yoo Hae-ran, who received attention by winning the Jeju Samdasoo Masters as a recommended player in 2019, debuted on a regular tour last year, succeeded in defending the Jeju Samdasoo Masters title, and won the Rookie of the Year award that year.
However, this year’s runner-up at the Lotte Open in June was the best result. This win quenched the thirst for this year’s championship, and continued the record of winning three years in a row.
Yoo Hae-ran finished the final round with a tie for third place, three shots behind the leader Seong Yu-jin. He had a good start with a birdie on the 2nd hole, but lost at bats again with a bogey on the 3rd hole.
But Hae-ran did not waver. From the 4th hole to the 6th hole, he caught a birdie on three consecutive holes and jumped to the joint lead in an instant. After that, he fell from the lead with a bogey on the 7th hole, but continued his upward trend with a birdie on the 8th hole.
In the second half, he jumped to the solo lead by making consecutive birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. However, Hye-Jin Choi also reduced the number of strokes with a terrifying momentum and caught up.
Hae-ran Hae, who created a dual confrontation with Hye-jin Choi, regained her lead position by one stroke as Hye-jin Choi made a bogey on the 15th hole.
However, after that, he could not reduce the number of strokes, and as Hyejin Choi made a birdie on the last 18th hole, the game went into overtime.
Overtime on the 18th hole (par 5). In the first overtime, both players recorded birdies. However, in the second overtime, Choi Hye-jin was only par, while Yoo Hae-ran successfully made a birdie again to put an end to the game.
Ji-Young Kim 2 reduced six strokes on the last day and took third place alone with a final total of 12 under par 204. On the other hand, Seong Yu-jin, who took the lead until the second round, was unable to reduce the number of strokes in the final round and stayed in fourth place with an 11-under 205 stroke. Park Bo-gyeom finished fifth with a 10-under 206 stroke.
In the final round of the day, 60 players and 30 celebrities formed a team of 3 (2 players + 1 celebrity), and the team’s best ball method (record of the player with the best performance on each hole) was also selected. Celebrities were given a handicap of one stroke on eight holes (holes 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, and 17).
As a result of the match, Yoo Hae-ran, Kim Ji-young 2, and Lim Chang-jeong took the first place with a 14-under-par 58. Woo-ri Jeon, Jin-hee Lim, Seong-su Kim, Hae-rim Kim, Bo-mi Kwak, Ji-hwan Ahn, Ye-rin Kang, Se-hee Lee, Do-kwon Ha. Seunghee Roh, Hyejin Choi, and Jeongjin Lee tied for second with an 11-under 61 stroke.
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