KLPGA: 2015 KDB Daiwoo Securities Classic

I totally agree.

It's a rare combination that a women player is young, talented, charismatic, statuesque, well-spoken and a proven winner like In Gee Chun.  In the individual sport, I can only think of Maria Sharapova, the tennis player, who won Wimbledon at 17 and has been the highest paid female athlete in the world for the last 11 years.

Being an Asian, it's more difficult for In Gee to attract as many international brand sponsorship like Sharapova, but she can be a much more prolific winner.  She is 21, she can win 10 or more LPGA major championships if she stays healthy and motivated over the next 10-15 years.

She may not earn $29.7 million a year like Sharapova, but she certainly can be the first female golfer to earn $15-20 million or more per year.

I know money isn't everything, but it's the most tangible measure of the popularity of any stars, male or female.

That's for sure.

Round 3: Sung Hyun Park Wins Second Event of 2015

In Gee Chun came into the final round tied for the lead with a great chance to defend her title. Alas, nothing went right for her all day. She set herself up for several short birdies, and missed them over and over. This is the woman who leads the KLPGA in putting average, and she could not buy a putt out there. She even three putted from four feet on the 14th hole. In the end she shot a 75, good only for a tie for 11th finish.



Chun might have been struggling, but a whole lot of other players weren't. In fact, low rounds were plentiful. One player who really got it done on Sunday was teen amateur Eun Jeong Seong. Seong, you may recall, earlier this year won the US Girl's Junior. On Sunday she was on fire, shooting a 7 under par 65 to vault to 11 under par, which was the clubhouse lead for a long time. But it was not enough to win.

Hye Youn Kim started the day two back, but zoomed into the lead at 12 under. But a bogey on 15 knocked her back to 11 under where she finished.



Song Yi Ahn also clambered to 11 under, but was not able to make a birdie after the 11th hole.



In the end, the player who won was in the final group: Sung Hyun Park. Playing with Chun and Ahn, Park made her move on the back nine with birdies on 11, 13 and 14 and a near miss eagle on 15 for another birdie. That moved her to 13 under, and she remained there until the end, claiming a two shot win.



Congrats to Sung Hyun Park on her second win of the year!



Scores:

1. Sung Hyun Park 69 -13
2. Eun Jeong Seong (A) 65, Song Yi Ahn 71, Hye Youn Kim 69 -11
5. Ji Hee Kim 65, Chae Young Yoon 70 -10

Notables:
7. Min Sun Kim 5 70, Jin Young Ko 67 -9
9. Cecilia Cho 72 -8
11. Bo Kyung Kim 71, Hee Young Park 69, Min Young Lee 72, In Gee Chun 75 -7
19. Jin Joo Hong 71, Jung Min Lee 70, Yoon Ji Cho 72, Soo Jin Yang 75 -5
27. Jung Eun Lee 5 71, Ji Young Park (R) 70, Ju Young Park 71 -4
34. Shin Ae Ahn 70, Sion Lee 75 -3
46. Ji Hyun Oh 73 -1
50. Han Sul Ji (R) 72 Even
68. Je Yoon Yang 78 +4

Pix:

Sung Hyun Park



Trophy





In Gee Chun









w/ Song Yi Ahn and Sung Hyun Park





Song Yi Ahn







Chae Young Yoon





Ji Hee Kim



Hee Young Park





Soo Jin Yang









Jung Min Lee



Jin Young Ko





So Young Park



Ji Ae Hwang







Cecilia Cho



Shin Ae Ahn











Da Na Kang





Ju Young Park



Da Na Kim



Jung Eun Lee 5



Seon Hwa Lee 2

It's an unexpected poor final round for In Gee; can't win them all.

Time to move on, tomorrow will be a better day.

I like Dumbo.
IMO...way too early to appoint her the next great one.
I need to see at least 3-5 years of domination....5+ wins/yr.....before we can call someone a superstar.

I'd like to see Dumbo in more colorful apparel like the other KLPGA pros...green & beige = meh.

The mountainous back drop at this event is gorgeous.