Lee Jung-min wins first KLPGA major at CreaS

Lee Jung-min hits a shot during the CreaS F&C KLPGA Championship at the Lakewood Country Club in Yangju, Gyeonggi on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Lee Jung-min won the CreaS F&C KLPGA Championship at the Lakewood Country Club in Yangju, Gyeonggi on Sunday, claiming her first major title at the first major of the 2024 season.

Lee carded a six-under-par, 66, in the final round for a final score of 23-under-par, 265, surpassing runner-up Jun Ye-sung by four strokes to take the first-place prize money of 234 million won ($170,900).

Lee made one bogey on the 10th hole in the last round, but seven birdies and pars along the rest of the course secured her victory.

Her performance on Sunday came after a remarkable moving day during which she recorded a bogey-free 10-under-par, 62, with eight birdies and one eagle, giving her the frontrunner position.

Lee’s victory brings her KLPGA trophy count to 11, having won her last title at the PLK Pacificlinks Championship with SBS Golf in December 2022.

“I always say that majors and non-majors are still the same, so I don’t think like I have to win because it is a major,” Lee said after the tournament. “I think it is still one of the 30 tournaments, but I feel happy about winning a major title.”

Defending champion Lee Da-yeon, meanwhile, tied for 26th place with an eight-under-par, 280.

Park Hyun-kyung, the most recent golfer to have successfully defended her title at the tournament after winning the CreaS in 2021 and 2022, tied for 19th place with a nine-under-par, 279.

One more win at the major would have made Park the third golfer to win the title three times alongside Ku Ok-hee and Kim Sun-mi. Ku won the title three times in a row from 1980 to 1982, while Kim won it in 1988, 1991 and 1993.

The KLPGA will continue with the Kyochon 1991 Ladies Open teeing off on May 3. The next major of the season is the DB Group Korea Women’s Open Golf Championship in June.

A total of five majors exist on the Tour: The CreaS Championship, DB Group Korea Women’s Open, Hanwha Classic, KB Financial Star Championship and Hite Jinro Championship.

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