Choi Hye-jin Seeks Redemption at Malaysia LPGA Event After Two Consecutive Runner-Up Finishes; Yoo Hae-ran Also Competes for Vare Trophy

Choi Hye-jin, who has narrowly missed out on victory during the 2026 LPGA Tour season, is once again challenging for the top spot this week.

Having finished as the runner-up at the BMW Ladies Championship which concluded on October 25, Choi will compete in the Maybank Championship, held for four days starting October 29 at the West Course of the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

During the final round of last week's tournament, Choi mounted a chase, pulling within one stroke of leader Yuri Yoshida (Japan) through the 17th hole.

However, her birdie putt on the 18th hole (par 4) narrowly missed the cup, leaving her tied for second place alongside Yoo Hae-ran.

Including her runner-up finishes at the Buick LPGA Shanghai two weeks ago and the team event Dow Championship, this marks her third runner-up finish of the season.

Choi still carries lingering disappointment from the Maybank Championship, where she also competes this week.

Last year, Choi finished the final day tied with Miyu Yamashita (Japan) and Hannah Green (Australia) before heading into a playoff, where she ultimately handed the championship trophy to Yamashita, who was a rookie at the time.

Having recorded six runner-up finishes since making her LPGA Tour debut in 2022—and nine runner-up finishes without a win when including her pre-debut appearances—Choi is maintaining a strong sense for her shots, ranking 8th overall in Strokes Gained this season, making her a formidable contender for the title at this tournament as well.


Yoo Hae-ran, who also finished as a runner-up alongside Choi in last week's tournament, will be competing as well.

In this tournament, Yoo is not only aiming for her third win of the season but also looking to secure the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

With scoring average leader Nelly Korda (USA) having failed to meet the minimum round requirement for the award, second-place Yoo holds a scoring average of 69.44 strokes, leading third-place Yamashita (69.64 strokes) by a 0.2-stroke margin.

Simple math dictates that Yamashita would need to finish 14 to 15 strokes ahead of Yoo in this tournament to pull off a comeback.

Furthermore, with only three tournaments remaining in the season after this event, Yoo is in a much more advantageous position.

Top-ranked players who did not participate in the BMW Ladies Championship, including Yamashita, Ruoning Yin (China), and Green, are joining this week's tournament, setting the stage for an even more heated competition for the title.
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.