Winner report
Yuri Yoshida turns in 31 to win the BMW Ladies Championship by one
Four behind Haeran Ryu at the start of Sunday, Yoshida shot 68 for her first LPGA Tour title on −17 at Pine Beach Golf Links. Ryu and Hye-Jin Choi tied for second.
Haeran Ryu began Sunday at the BMW Ladies Championship four shots clear and played her first 15 holes in level par. Yuri Yoshida, starting the round on −13, eagled the par-five 2nd, birdied the 5th, 6th and 7th and was out in 31. She won by one shot on −17 at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Korea. It is her first LPGA Tour title.
Yoshida, 26, closed with a 68. She led until a bogey at the par-three 15th left her level with Ryu on −17. Ryu then dropped her first shot of the day at the par-four 16th, and both birdied the par-five 17th. Yoshida three-putted the 18th for a bogey, so Ryu needed a par there to force a play-off. Her approach found a greenside bunker and the long par putt finished short. She signed for a 73. Ryu is No. 3 in the world and has won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Evian Championship this year.
Hye-Jin Choi birdied the 11th and 13th to get within one, but her birdie putt on the 18th lipped out and she shot 69. A week ago she finished second in Shanghai, a shot behind Ruoning Yin. This was her 125th LPGA start without a win. The Korea Times reports that her LPGA earnings before this week, about $7.5 million, are the most of any player in the tour’s history without a win. AP counts five 54-hole leads, outright or shared, that she has not converted.
Yoshida opened with a bogey-free 66, hitting 16 greens, and shared the first-round lead with Karis Davidson. It was the first time she had led an LPGA event after 18 holes. “Just perfect golf,” she said that day. She has four wins on the JLPGA Tour, including the 2023 World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup, and tied for tenth in Shanghai a week ago.
Final leaderboard
| Pos | Player | To par | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuri Yoshida (JPN) | −17 | 271 |
| T2 | Haeran Ryu (KOR) | −16 | 272 |
| T2 | Hye-Jin Choi (KOR) | −16 | 272 |
| T4 | Hyo Joo Kim (KOR) | −15 | 273 |
| T4 | Min-sol Kim (KOR) | −15 | 273 |
| T6 | Grace Kim (AUS) | −14 | 274 |
| T6 | Jodi Ewart Shadoff (ENG) | −14 | 274 |
| T6 | Nasa Hataoka (JPN) | −14 | 274 |
| T6 | Carlota Ciganda (ESP) | −14 | 274 |
The LPGA had not published official prize money for the event at the time of writing. Sei Young Kim, the defending champion, shot 70 on Sunday and tied for 55th on −2.
The tour’s Asian swing continues in Kuala Lumpur next week with the Maybank Championship, the third of its four events in the region.
Sources
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