Chun, 20, shot one-over 73 in the final round with a total of 8-under 208. (image: Hite-Jinro Championship)
YEOJU, South Korea, Jul. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean golfer Chun In-gee on Sunday became the first Korean female player to win a major in the United States, Japan and South Korea in one season.
Chun, 20, shot one-over 73 in the final round with a total of 8-under 208 to take the Hite-Jinro Championship in Yeoju, 105 kilometers south of Seoul.
She captured the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for her first LPGA major title. In May, Chun also claimed her title on the Japanese LPGA Tour.
Golfer Shin Ji-yai won three tours in 2008, but she failed to win a major in Japan though she claimed major championships in the U.S. and South Korea.
“A golf course was difficult, but I was able to get good results as I enjoyed playing with my fans’ cheering me on,” Chun said. “I appreciate my father for allowing me to play golf.”
Chun became the seventh South Korean champion of the U.S. national championship after Pak Se-ri (1998), Birdie Kim (2005), Park In-bee (2008 and 2013), Ji Eun-hee (2009), Ryu So-yeon (2011) and Choi Na-yeon (2012). Chun is a full-time member of the Korean LPGA Tour and is currently leading the domestic circuit in money.
She turned pro in 2012 and has eight wins on the Korean tour, including four in 2015.
On Thursday, Chun will play in the next LPGA major, the Ricoh Women’s British Open in Turnberry, Scotland.
(Yonhap)
