Lee Jung-min shoots 23-under for first major of his career

 Lee Jung-min (34, Q CELLS), who turned pro in 2009, is in the hunt for his first major title. He has 11 career victories, but no major titles.

Lee wore the red winner's jacket after carding a final round of 23-under-par 265 (68-69-62-66) at the Christie's F&C 46th KLPGA Championship (KRW 1.3 billion in prize money, KRW 234 million in winner's purse), which concluded on Aug. 28 at Lakewood Country Club (Par 72/6,554 yards) in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do.

The Chris F&C 46th KLPGA Championship is the sixth KLPGA Tour event of the 2024 season and the first major of the season.

Despite the 'major' status, Lee had a tremendous four days of birdie hunting, especially in the third and fourth rounds, where she was 16 strokes under par. -16 is a winning score in most tournaments, but Lee did it in just two days.

Her final total of 23-under par is the lowest score in the KLPGA Championship. The previous record was 19-under-par 269 (72 holes) by Jang Jang-yeon at the 2017 event.

Of the four rounds, it was in the third round that Lee really showed her true colors. Lee had one hole-in-one and eight birdies in the third round. He didn't make a single bogey.

In the final round on the 28th, the first half of the day continued the trend of the third round. Through the first nine holes, Lee had six birdies and no bogeys. At the end of the first half, the match was effectively decided. In the second half, 바카라사이트 he had one bogey and one birdie.

The absolute ring that allowed Lee to post his unrealistic score was his long, awl-like irons. His tee shots were a little shaky, and his putts were still “a work in progress,” as he put it, but his iron shots towards the pin were perfect. He didn't seem to have much trouble with his putt, as he was able to keep it within a meter or two of the pin.

Speaking to the media after his victory, Lee said, “I didn't go into golf with a score in mind. I'm aiming to play the way I want to play and improve myself until I get the performance I want. I hope my tee shots will be more stable, and my putts won't suddenly go well one day, but they are getting better step by step, so I will continue to study and practice.”

“I thought it was just one of 30 tournaments, whether it's a major or a regular tournament, but now that I've won it, it's nice to have the title of major,” he said.

“I've been practicing a lot,” he said of his improved putts this year. When I missed in tournaments, I found patterns and practiced how to overcome them. I'm grateful to my coach and fellow pros, especially Baek Jeong-jeong, who helped me a lot during the training camp.”

Bang Shin-shil, who began the final round in a tie for second place after shooting 16-under par through three rounds, was unable to reduce her score and dropped to a tie for third place. Joining her in the top three were Kim Min-byul, who shaved eight strokes off her score on the final day, and Park Ji-young, who shaved seven strokes off her score.

In the final round, there was another player like Lee Jung-min in the third round, Jeon Ye-seong. Jeon carded 12 birdies without a bogey on the day, jumping 17 spots to finish the tournament in sole possession of second place.