‘Super Rookie’ Bang Shin-sil (19) announced her entry into the regular tour with a wire-to-wire victory that saw her take the lead from the first round.
Bang made just two birdies and no 스포츠토토 bogeys in the final round of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour’s E1 Charity Open (total prize money of 900 million won) at Seongmunan Country Club (Par 72) in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Monday.
With a final total of 9-under-par 207, Bang finished two strokes clear of the second-place group. It was his first career victory.
After finishing 40th in this season’s regular tour seeding event and entering as a conditional seed, he can now play on tour as a top seed through 2025. The first event she can play as the top seed is the Celltrion Women’s Masters.
She became just the 10th player in history to go wire-to-wire for her first career victory. With this win, he is sixth on the money list, sixth on the Grand Prize list, and third on the Rookie of the Year list.
Bang started the final round with a one-stroke lead, and after defending champion Kim Hee-ji bogeyed the first hole and Park Ji-young double-bogeyed, Bang was feeling a little more comfortable. He picked up his first birdie on the fifth (par-4) and his second on the back nine (par-5). From there, he settled in and finished the rest of the way with pars.
He said: “I was very disappointed to miss out on the last two tournaments, but it was a good experience for me to win today. I played safe and stayed in the fairways rather than being aggressive. I hit more fairway woods off the tee than I did in rounds one and two.”
“I’ve always been a long hitter in the national team, but in winter training this year, I spent two and a half months working on my swing speed for an hour and a half three times a day. I gained about 20 yards,” he said, “and now I’m thinking of improving my accuracy rather than increasing my distance.”
Unlike his fellow national teammate Hwang Yoo-min, who finished 40th in the seeding, Bang Shin-shil was unable to secure a full seeding. “Everyone else was playing on the regular tour, but I fell short,” he said, “and I struggled a lot because I wanted to go up with them.
Her role model is 28-year-old Jin Young Ko, who plays on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour. “First of all, I think I can learn a lot from her because she has a very good mental attitude and always works hard on the spot,” said Bang.
“My original goal was to secure a seed, and it’s great that it’s already happened. In the future, I want to play steadily in the remaining tournaments and finish in the top 10.”