South Korea’s Choi Na-yeon captured the crown at the Sime Darby LPGA tournament in Malaysia Sunday, earning her first win of the season and fifth of her career.
Choi fired a three-under 68 in the final round at the par-71 Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, for the four-round total of 15-under. She fended off world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who shot the lowest round of Sunday with a six-under 65 but ended one shot behind her Korean rival.
Last week, Tseng beat Choi to win the LPGA Hana Bank Championship in South Korea. The LPGA Tour is in the midst of its annual Asian swing.
Choi took a one-shot lead into the final round but had an early hiccup with a double bogey on the par-4 second hole. But she was flawless the rest of the way, picking up five birdies with no bogeys.
Tseng’s final round included seven birdies, including three on the back nine, but she still came up shy of her seventh victory this year.
Choi’s win was the 100th on the LPGA Tour by Koreans or Korean-American players. Ku Ok-hee became the first Korean-born winner on the LPGA in 1988.
Pak Se-ri, the only South Korean member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, leads all Koreans with 25 wins. Korean-Americans such as Michelle Wie and Pearl Sinn have also found the winner’s circle on the LPGA Tour.
Reporter Lee,Seoryung New Zealand
