Choi Yerim Claims First Victory After Nine Runner-Up Finishes: "I Want to Win Ten Titles"

A Long-Awaited First Win at the OK Savings Bank Uttman Open

Jumps to Third in Money and Player of the Year Rankings

Im Heejeong Second, Kim Minsol Third, Shin Dain Sixth

Choi Yerim clinched her first victory after finishing runner-up nine times.

On September 6, at the Adonis Country Club in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 72·6,695 yards), she competed in the final round of the KLPGA Tour’s OK Savings Bank Uttman Open, which had a total prize fund of KRW 1 billion. Choi carded three birdies and two bogeys, shooting a 1-under-par 71 on the day. This brought her to a final total of 10-under-par 206, securing a one-shot victory.

Having debuted on the regular tour in 2018, Choi reached the top of the leaderboard at her 239th tournament appearance. The winner’s prize was KRW 180 million. She also jumped to third place in both the season money rankings (KRW 659,946,191) and Player of the Year points (326 points). This result shook up a season that had been dominated by the rivalry between Seo Kyolim (four wins) and Kim Minsol (three wins).

Choi Yerim is cheering after securing victory at the OK Savings Bank Uthman Open. Photo by KLPGA

Choi started the final round with a three-shot lead and made an early birdie at the first hole (par 4). Thanks to her precise iron shots, she collected three more birdies on the fifth and ninth holes (both par 5s), at one point extending her lead over the chasing group to six strokes. In the back nine, bogeys at the 14th and 16th holes allowed Im Heejeong to close the gap to just one shot, but Choi secured a par on the crucial 18th hole (par 4) to claim the long-awaited victory.

In a post-victory interview, Choi said, “In the past, I missed out on wins so I was very nervous, but I focused on my own game without thinking about the lead.” She added with a bright smile, “I want to be remembered as a player who wins a lot going forward. My goal is to win ten tournaments. For the past nine years, I was known for my consistent play, but now I think it’s time to become a player known for winning often.”

Im Heejeong charged with a 6-under-par 66 to finish runner-up at 9-under-par 207. Kim Minsol, who was aiming for her fourth win of the season, finished third at 8-under-par 208. By adding KRW 80 million in prize money, Kim overtook Seo Kyolim—who did not participate in this tournament—to move into first place in the season earnings race at KRW 1,366,620,000. Shin Da-in, who was chasing a second straight win, tied for sixth place at 5-under-par 211.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.