Lee Da-yeon wins Hana Financial Group Championship playoff nail-biter

Lee Da-yeon poses with the Hana Financial Group Championship trophy after winning the event at Bear’s Best Cheongna in Incheon on Sunday. [KLPGA]

Lee Da-yeon won the Hana Financial Group Championship on Sunday at Bear’s Best Cheongna in Incheon, winning her eighth KLPGA title and second of the 2023 season after three grueling playoffs.

Lee Da-yeon competed alongside KLPGA golfers as well as LPGA golfers like Minjee Lee of Australia and Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, who joined the tournament as Hana Financial Group is their main sponsor.

Lee So-mi, Lee Da-yeon, Minjee Lee and Tavatanakit competed fiercely until the last few holes. Lee So-mi finished first among the four, managing a five-under-par, 67, for a final score of seven-under-par, 281, briefly claiming the front-runner position.

Tavatanakit then finished with a final score of eight-under-par, 280, pushing Lee So-mi down to fourth and leaving Lee Da-yeon and Minjee Lee still in play with one hole left to finish.

Lee Da-yeon carded a par on the par-4 18th hole, tying the final score with Tavatanakit.

It came down to whether Minjee Lee could make a birdie on the last hole to claim the victory, but the Australian also made par to tie the final score with Lee Da-yeon and Tavatanakit, forcing a playoff.

The playoff took place on the par-4 18th hole and Tavatanakit made a bogey, while Minjee Lee and Lee Da-yeon both carded a par, forcing a second playoff between the two.

Lee Da-yeon and Minjee Lee then both carded a bogey on the 18th hole, forcing yet another playoff on the same hole.

Minjee Lee made a par, while Lee Da-yeon carded a birdie, claiming the victory and securing her eighth title with a prize pot of 270 million won ($202,000).

“I was really nervous as it was my first playoff, but I think I enjoyed it and I felt thankful until the last putt,” Lee said after the event.

Her victory at the Hana Championship came after she narrowly missed the title in 2019 when she finished as runner-up by a margin of one stroke.

“I had one thing on my mind [in the third playoff],” Lee said. “I could card a birdie, par or bogey and I felt desperate when I made the putt. The biggest objective I have is a major, so I want to finish the remaining majors well.”

Some other big names failed to shine at the Hana Championship, with the KLPGA's winningest golfer Park Min-ji and LPGA golfer Lydia Ko of New Zealand — whose main sponsor is also Hana Financial Group — failing to make the cut at the event.

Defending champion Kim Su-ji claimed the front-runner position on moving day, but failed to retain it on the last day and tied for fifth with six-under-par, 282, missing a chance to become the first-ever golfer to defend the title.

The KLPGA will continue next week with the Daebo HasuD Open teeing off at Seowon Valley Country Club in Gwangju, Gyeonggi on Friday.

About two months of the 2023 KLPGA tour remain, with the SK Shields SK Telecom Championship scheduled as the last tournament of the year in November.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]