Yoo Hyun-jo wins season finale with birdie on 18; Kim Min-sol claims triple crown

Yoo Hyun-jo clinched the KLPGA Tour season finale, the Daebo Housed Championship, with a birdie on the 18th hole Sunday, taking home the top prize from the 1.2 billion won ($894,000) purse event. In the season-long individual title races, Kim Min-sol swept the Player of the Year award, the money title and Rookie of the Year honors, while Seo Gyo-rim claimed the most wins.

Playing the final round at Seowon Valley Country Club's Seowon Hills Course (par 72, 6,649 yards) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Yoo carded a 4-under-par 68 with five birdies and one bogey. At 14 under par and 202 strokes for the tournament, Yoo edged Lee Ye-won — who mounted a fierce late charge — by one stroke to claim the winner's check of 300 million won. It was Yoo's third victory of the season and fifth on tour overall.

The title came down to the final hole, a par 4. Lee had pulled level with back-to-back birdies on holes 16 and 17, sending the two players to the 18th tied for the lead. Yoo then hit a 9-iron approach from 117 meters to within 1.3 meters of the cup and converted the birdie, while Lee, putting first, missed an 8-meter birdie attempt.

Yoo had produced several highlight moments throughout the week. On the opening day, Yoo made a shot eagle on the par-4 13th hole and followed it immediately with a hole-in-one on the par-3 14th, picking up four strokes over two holes. In the second round, Yoo posted seven birdies with no bogeys to move into a share of the lead. The run culminated with Sunday's closing birdie to seal the title.

"I'm so grateful to win at the last tournament of the season," Yoo said in the post-round interview. "I had a lot of luck this week. I get cold easily, so I was worried about the weather, but I'm overjoyed to have played well all the way to the final hole and won."

The result also decided the scoring average title. Yoo, who entered the week ranked third in that category, lowered the season scoring average to 70.6795 to overtake Seo and claim the top spot — a second consecutive scoring average award after winning it last year. "In yesterday's interview I said I wasn't that eager for the low-scoring-average award since I'd already won it last year," Yoo said. "But my dad told me I could win it if I shot 14 under in this tournament, and I told him, 'Dream on' — so I'm honored it actually happened."

The Player of the Year race produced a late comeback by Kim Min-sol. Kim closed with five birdies and no bogeys for a final total of 8 under par and 208 strokes, finishing in a tie for sixth and adding 42 Player of the Year points. Kim had trailed Seo by 38 points entering the final event but finished with 567 points to overtake Seo's 563 by four. Seo dropped five strokes on the final day to finish in a tie for 52nd, adding no points.

Kim also locked up the money title. Adding 26.62 million won in prize money from the finale, Kim finished the season with 1.63 billion won in earnings to top the money list. The total broke the 1.6 billion won mark, setting a new all-time single-season earnings record on tour. Combined with the Rookie of the Year award already secured, Kim claimed a triple crown — Player of the Year, money title and Rookie of the Year. It is the first time a rookie has swept all three titles simultaneously since Shin Ji-ae in 2006, a span of 20 years.

Seo Gyo-rim claimed the most-wins title with four victories on the season. Seo's wins came at the Celltrion Queens Masters, the Inca Financial The Heaven Masters, the Mediheal Hankook Ilbo Championship and the major BC Card·Hankyung KLPGA Championship.