Park Bo-gyeom wins KB Financial Group Championship for first major title

Park Bo-gyeom won the KB Financial Group Golden Life Championship, the third major of the KLPGA Tour season, which carried a purse of 1.5 billion won ($1.12 million).

Park carded three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under-par 71 in the final round Sunday at Blackstone Golf Club Icheon (par 72) in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Her total of 5-under-par 283 edged out Park Ye-ji, Bang Shin-sil and Yoo Seo-yeon — who finished tied for second at 4-under 284 — by one stroke, giving Park her first win of the year. The winner's share was 270 million won.

It was her fourth career victory and her first major title. Park, who joined the tour in September 2017, has won at least once every year since 2023.

Park began the final round tied for second, one stroke behind third-round leader Park Ye-ji. She picked up birdies on holes 1 and 3 but gave them back with consecutive bogeys on holes 5 and 7, struggling to move up the leaderboard. A birdie on the par-4 8th hole put her back under par, and a bogey-free back nine of steady par play ultimately carried her to the title.

The turning point came at the par-3 16th. Yoo Seo-yeon, who had been tied for the lead, missed a par putt for a bogey, while Park saved par to take sole possession of first place by one stroke with two holes to play. Both players made par on the par-4 17th. At the par-5 18th, Yoo could not convert a birdie putt, and Park saved par to seal the victory.

"All four rounds were tough," Park said. "On the final day, I tried not to force anything. At Blackstone Golf Club, mistakes happen when you try too hard. I focused on positioning the ball where I could make birdie putts comfortably, and that paid off."

Park had gone without a win since claiming her third career title in March last year. "I've been winning once a year, but this year I really want to win multiple times," she said.

Yoo Seo-yeon held sole possession of the lead through the 13th hole but made bogeys on the par-4 14th and the 16th, finishing with an even-par 72 to miss out on what would have been her first career win — and at a major.

Seo Gyo-rim, who started the final round tied for sixth, fired four birdies against three bogeys for a 1-under 71 and finished at 3-under 285 to claim fifth place. The result pushed her season earnings to 1.38 billion won, moving her past Kim Min-sol (1.31 billion won) into first place on the money list.

Kim Min-sol, Seo's rookie rival, struggled again in the final round, shooting a 3-over 75 to finish at 9-over 297, tied for 47th.