The gallery waited for her with umbrellas in the rain, and South Korea’s best long hitter earned a full seed on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. The future of Korean women’s golf was also on the line. Many golf fans believe that the recent success of Ko Jin-young on the international stage could revitalize the struggling Korean women’s game. KLPGA Tour’s ‘rising star’ Bang Shin-sil enjoyed her first victory in her third attempt.
On the final day of the KLPGA Tour’s 11th E1 Charity Open (total prize money of 900 million won) at Seongmunan Country Club (Par 72-6520 yards) in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Aug. 28, Bang recorded two birdies without a bogey in the third round. With a final total of 9-under-par 207, Bang celebrated her first career victory with a wire-to-wire victory that saw her lead the tournament from the first round to the last.
Even more impressively, she surpassed the 200 million won mark (KRW 278.89 million) in prize money in just five tournaments, setting a new record for the fewest tournaments in the category. The previous record was held by Choi Hye-jin, Cho A-yeon, Park Min-ji, and other prominent players who earned over $200 million in prize money in six tournaments.
Bang was playing in the championship group after finishing fourth at the KLPGA Championship in April and third at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship earlier this month. However, she has always struggled on the final day recently. Her short game has often been disappointing and she has fallen apart at key junctures. However, on this day, she played a clean game with no bogeys to win the title.
Bang is the first rookie to win this year, and with this victory, he secures a full tour card for the rest of the year and into the 2025 season. It is the 10th time in her career that she has gone wire-to-wire to win her first title.
Holding a one-stroke lead in a match that was played in the rain all day, Bangsinsil seized control on the par-5 16th hole. He hit his third shot from around the green to within a meter of the hole for birdie. Kim Hee-ji, who was trailing by one stroke, missed a par putt from a similar distance and the gap quickly grew to three strokes. Kim Min-sun, who was one shot behind Shi, made a similar mistake on the 17th hole (par-4), missing a par putt from just over a meter away. In effect, it was the end of the match. Bang made pars on the remaining two holes to seal the match.
Born in 2004, Bang is a whopping 6-foot-3. With his height comes great distance. Her average distance this season is 264.6 yards, making her one of the best ‘long hitters’ on the tour. After finishing 40th in the KLPGA Tour seeding last year, she was playing on two tours this year, limiting her number of regular tour appearances, but with this win, she quickly earned a full seed on the regular tour.안전놀이터
Bang also overcame the challenges of suffering from “hyperthyroidism” in 2019, although she is now almost fully recovered. With the win, Bang quickly jumped to sixth in the money list and third in the Rookie of the Year standings. Bang’s seeding will kick in at the Celltrion Queens Masters, which kicks off on June 9.
Meanwhile, this year’s KLP{GA event marks the first time that five players have won their first career KLPGA Tour event, with Lee Ye-won, Lee Ju-mi, Choi Eun-woo, Park Bo-gyeom, and Bang Shin-sil making history.