The 2021 KLPGA Tour, with the highest ever prize money of 26.9 billion won, successfully concluded. We summarize the 2021 season through various issues and records created by the best players with the best performance.

 

 

Park Min-ji, the star of the three most brilliant awards

 

The player who showed the best performance of any player this year was definitely Minji Park (23, NH Investment & Securities). He participated in 25 of the 29 competitions held in the 2021 season and won the championship trophy in 6 competitions, becoming a ‘trend’. Starting with the ‘Nexen Saint Nine Masters 2021’ held for the second time in the season, Min-ji Park won the ‘2021 NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship’ and ‘2021 Doosan Match Play Championship’ held in mid-May for two consecutive weeks. She then showed her potential by winning the ‘Celltrion Queen’s Masters’ held in June and the major tournament ‘DB Group 35th Korea Women’s Open Golf Championship’ for two consecutive weeks. Lastly, Minji Park, who became the first champion at the newly held ‘Daebo House D Open’ in July, achieved the feat of recording her 6th win of the season and 10th win in total.

 

 

Park Min-ji, who joined in 2016, engraved her name in the top ten a total of 14 times this season, including 6 wins and 2 runners-up, and eventually won the 2021 season's grand prize, prize money title, and multiple wins title. In addition, Park Min-ji created a new KLPGA history by recording 1,521,374,313 won, exceeding the ‘most prize money won in a season’ of 1,333,090,667 won by Park Seong-hyun (28, Solaire) in 2016. Let’s pay attention to the 2022 season of Park Min-ji, who shows growth every year on the regular tour.

 

 

The Empresses who achieved multiple wins in that difficult season

 

The following are the protagonists of the difficult multiple wins, including Park Min-ji, who won 6 times. Somi Lee (22, SBI Savings Bank), who won the 'Lotte Rent-a-Car Women's Open', which marked the opening of the 2021 KLPGA Tour, lifted her second trophy of the season at the 'Daeyu Winia-MBN Women's Open', recording her 3rd win in KLPGA career.

 

Kim Su-ji (25, Dongbu Construction) achieved her first win at the ‘10th KG-Edaily Ladies Open’ after 5 years. In addition, he quickly emerged as a dark horse by winning the ‘21st Hite Jinro Championship’, a major competition.

 

Jang Ha-na (29, BC Card), who has lifted the championship trophy every year since 2012 across the KLPGA and LPGA stages, did not stop her winning streak this year as well. Jang Ha-na’s first win of the year was the ‘Lotte Open’. Jang Ha-na, who reached the top after an extended period of time, also enjoyed a double victory as her ‘lifetime prize money’ exceeded 5 billion won for the first time in KLPGA history. Afterwards, Jang Hana achieved her second win of the season at the major tournament ‘KB Financial Star Championship’ and her 15th win in total on the regular tour. Expectations are rising for the 2022 season of Jang Ha-na, who will rewrite KLPGA history every time she participates.

 

 

Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte), who won this year’s LPGA Tour ‘HSBC Women’s World Championship’, appeared on the KLPGA stage for the first time in a long time after participating in the ‘2020 Tokyo Olympics’. At the ‘OK Savings Bank Se-ri Pak INVITATIONAL’ hosted by Se-ri Pak (44), whom she always considered her role model, Hyo-joo Kim achieved her 12th win in KLPGA. Kim Hyo-joo then went to the United States to participate in the LPGA Tour tournament and returned through the ‘SK Networks-Seoul Economic Ladies Classic’ and won her second win of the season.

 

This year, Yoo Hae-ran (20, SK Networks) added victory in the new competition ‘EL Crew-TV Chosun Pro Celebrity 2021’ and the season’s final match, ‘SK Shielders-SK Telecom Championship 2021’. Yoo Hae-ran, who won twice this season, surpassed 1.5 billion won in career prize money on the KLPGA. Yoo Hae-ran, who has a total of 4 wins on the regular tour, is the only KLPGA player, along with Shin Ji-ae, to earn 1.5 billion won in prize money by playing in less than 60 tournaments. A lot of attention is being paid to the activities of Hae-ran Yoo, who is growing at a rapid pace.

 

 

The thrilling moments of a total of 4 first-time winners

 

A total of four players, including Kim Su-ji, who achieved multiple wins this season, took a step forward after passing the hurdle of winning their first career championship.

 

First, the victory of Kwak Bomi (29, High1 Resort), who has been on the tour for 11 years, impressed golf fans. Kwak Bomi, who was about to end her career as a player at the end of this year, recorded her first win at the ‘Kyochon Honey Ladies Open’ and was able to continue her career as a player.

 

Lim Jin-hee (23, Cade Live), who was always worried about the seed ranking match, made her name known by winning a surprise victory in the ‘BC Card-Hankyeong Ladies Cup 2021’. The amount of prize money that Jin-hee Lim earned this year is more than the amount of prize money she earned while playing on the regular tour from 2017 to 2020, showing that she has grown to the next level.

 

Jeon Ye-seong (19, GTG Wellness), born in 2002, entered the regular tour stage at an early age in the 2020 season. Jeon Ye-sung, who ranked 61st in the prize money rankings and participated in the ‘KLPGA 2021 Season Regular Tour Seed Ranking Match’, and stood on the regular tour stage again at the 8th seed ranking this year, achieved her first thrilling win at the ‘Ever Collagen Queen’s Crown 2021’.

 

 

Song Ga-eun (21, MG Saemaul Geumgo), who was competing for the Rookie of the Year award, defeated veteran Lee Min-ji (25, Hana Financial Group) in the ‘Hana Financial Group Championship’ and won her first trophy in her life. Through this win, Song Ga-eun earned 310 Rookie of the Year points and took the lead in the Rookie of the Year race.

 

 

Players who won prestigious trophies this season

 

This year, the players who won for the first time in a long time received a brilliant spotlight and became the protagonists of touching stories. Among this season's winners, the player who felt the honor of winning for the first time in a long time is Lee Jeong-min (29, Hanwha Q CELLS), a 12-year veteran of the tour. Lee Jeong-min reached the top in his new competition, ‘Dongbu Construction-Korea Land Trust Championship’, after about 5 years and 7 months.

 

Four of the 2021 season winners recorded their first win in about three years. Ji Han-sol (25, Dongbu Construction), who won the '9th E1 Charity Open', kissed the trophy for the first time in 3 years and 6 months, and Kim Hae-rim (32, Samchully) won the 'McCall-Mona Park Open with SBS Golf'. He reported his 7th win in 3 years and 2 months. Oh Ji-hyun (25, KB Financial Group) once again enjoyed the joy of winning the ‘Jeju Samdasoo Masters’, which she won three years ago. Jiyoung Park (25, Korea Land Trust) continued her good run by winning again at the ‘S-OIL Championship’, a competition that marked her first win in her career after 2 years and 11 months.

 

 

Lee Da-yeon (24, Medihill) won the ‘Hanwha Classic 2021’, securing another major championship title for her. And this year, only two players successfully defended their titles as defending champions. Major queen Park Hyun-kyung (21, Korea Land Trust), who won the 'Chris F&C 43rd KLPGA Championship' for two consecutive years, and Lim Hee-jung (21, Korea Land Trust), who won again at the 'National Shelter High1 Resort Women's Open 2021' held in two years. 21. Korea Land Trust) is the main character. Hyun-Kyung Park, who won her second consecutive ‘KLPGA Championship’ title in 39 years, and Hee-Jung Lim, who won a meaningful victory in her hometown, continued to perform well after her win and took top positions in major title categories.

 

Song Ga-eun won the Rookie of the Year Award, which was unknown until the final match.

 

Song Ga-eun and Hong Jeong-min (19, CJ On Style) raced until the final round for the 2021 season Rookie of the Year title. Until the ‘SK Shielders-SK Telecom Championship 2021’, the difference in Rookie of the Year award points between the two players was only 34 points, and the Rookie of the Year title was decided by the final match performance.

 

In the final match, Song Ga-eun recorded a final total of 1 under par 215 strokes and tied for 14th place. On the other hand, chaser Hong Jeong-min made 3-over-par 219 strokes and tied for 22nd place. Song Ga-eun, who was the only rookie player in the 2021 season to win the championship trophy, showed consistent performance throughout the season, defeating prominent competitors and winning the only rookie award in her life.

 

 

What are the various records that caught attention in the 2021 season?

 

There were a total of 20 lucky holes in one in the 2021 season, delighting the eyes of golf fans. This season was considered to be the season with the third highest number of holes-in-one among all KLPGA seasons, providing unique enjoyment.

With a total of 24,482 birdies in the 2021 KLPGA Tour, the competition for ‘Buddy Queen’ was fiercer than ever. This year’s honored ‘Buddy Queen’ is Yoo Hae-ran. Yoo Hae-ran, who recorded 331 birdies, became the player with the most birdies this year, with a slight difference from the 2020 season’s ‘birdie queen’ Lim Hee-jung (329) and Park Hyun-kyung (328), who recorded the most birdies in the first half of this year.

 

This year, there were a total of 192 eagles, and the players with the most eagles were Seong Yu-jin (21, Hanwha Q CELLS), Lee Da-yeon, and Jo A-yeon (21, Dongbu Construction), who each caught 5 eagles. The ‘Long Hit Queen’ of the 2021 season is Seungyeon Lee (23, SK Networks), who recorded an average drive distance of 250.9737 yards. This season's KLPGA Tour ended successfully, achieving results such as holding four new competitions despite the prolongation of COVID-19.

 

 

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