Yoo Hyun-jo edges out rivals by one point to claim second win of season at HJ Shipbuilding & Dongbu championship

Yoo Hyun-jo held off a fierce charge from Kim Min-sun 7 and Ahn Ji-hyun to win the HJ Shipbuilding & Construction·Dongbu Championship, the only modified Stableford event on the KLPGA Tour, which carried a purse of 1 billion won ($747,000).

Playing Sunday at A-One Country Club (par 72, 6,504 yards) in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Yoo added six points on the final day — four birdies against two bogeys — to finish with a total of 52 points, one ahead of joint runners-up Kim Min-sun 7 and Ahn Ji-hyun, who each finished with 51. The winner's share was 180 million won.

The victory gave Yoo her second win of the season, following her inaugural title at the DB Women's Championship in May, making her a multiple winner this year. It is her fourth career victory on tour. Her 52-point total also set an all-time record for a modified Stableford event on the KLPGA Tour, surpassing the previous mark of 51 points.

The tournament used a points-based scoring system: albatross 8 points, eagle 5, birdie 2, par 0, bogey minus 1, and double bogey or worse minus 3.

Yoo entered the final round with a four-point lead but faced a stern test. Ahn, playing in an earlier group, mounted a relentless charge, while Kim Min-sun 7, paired with Yoo in the final group, rattled off a string of birdies on the back nine to close within striking distance.

Ahn had racked up 12 birdies through 17 holes to pile pressure on Yoo, but a tee shot into the water on the par-4 18th resulted in a bogey, costing her a chance at a playoff. She had made consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4, five straight birdies from holes 6 through 10, and four more in a row from holes 13 through 16, only for a critical mistake on the final tee to undo her effort.

Kim Min-sun 7 also kept the pressure on, making five birdies through hole 15 to pull within two points of the lead. She then missed a 2.3-meter par putt on the par-4 16th, letting slip a chance to draw level. Yoo herself missed a 5-meter par putt on the same hole, which could have swung the outcome, but Kim was unable to capitalize.

Steadied, Yoo parred holes 17 and 18 to seal the one-point victory. Kim had a 7-meter birdie opportunity on the par-4 18th but could only manage par.

After her win, Yoo said Kim Min-sun 7 was "one of the players I consider to have the best ball-striking on the KLPGA Tour." She added: "We've played together before this tournament, and her ball-striking was really impressive then too. She's that good a player, and I couldn't let my guard down until the very end today."

Lee Ye-won added 13 points on the final day — seven birdies and one bogey — to finish with 50 points and take sole fourth place. Han A-reum made bogeys on holes 6 and 8 but birdied seven of the remaining holes for 12 points, finishing with 47 points in sole fifth.