Lee Sang-hee wins Sansan KBC Augusta on Japan tour for 5th career title

Lee Sang-hee claimed victory at the Japan Golf Tour Organization's Sansan KBC Augusta, which carried a purse of 100 million yen ($627,000).

Playing the final round Sunday at Keya Golf Club (par 72, 7,293 yards) in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, Lee carded seven birdies against no bogeys to finish at 23-under-par 265, beating runner-up Hosono Yusaku of Japan by three strokes. The win earned Lee 20 million yen in prize money and lifted him to seventh in the Japan tour points ranking and 11th on the money list.

It was Lee's first victory on the Japan tour. "It feels truly wonderful to win for the first time on the Japan tour, 13 years after my debut here in 2013," he said in his post-round interview. The triumph was all the more emotional given that Lee had finished runner-up eight times on the circuit before finally lifting the trophy Sunday.

Lee also spoke of a commitment he had made to his late father. "After my father passed away in 2023, I vowed I would show him a winner's trophy," he said. "But that vow turned into an obsession with winning, and whenever I was in contention I found myself fixated on the result — which always left me with regrets." He credited his coach with helping him break the pattern. "My coach advised me to stop thinking about outcomes and focus only on what I could control. I believe that by concentrating on just doing what I needed to do this week, regardless of results, I was able to win," he added. His father, who had supported his career throughout, died three years ago after a battle with cancer.

The victory is Lee's fifth as a professional and his first since winning the GS Caltex MK Open on the KPGA Tour in 2017 — a gap of roughly nine years. Lee turned professional in September 2010 and claimed his first title at the NH NongHyup Open in 2011. The following year he won the 55th KPGA Championship for his second title and was named KPGA Player of the Year.

That same year Lee topped the Japan tour qualifying school to earn his card, and he has competed on both the Korean and Japanese circuits since 2013. His other Korean wins came at the SK Telecom Open in 2016 and the GS Caltex MK Open in 2017.

"My goal is to add another win in Korea. I haven't won there since 2017, so I want to keep this momentum going and keep adding new titles," Lee said. "I will do my best to produce a good result at the upcoming 42nd Shinhan Donghae Open as well."