Yoo Hae-ran Wins Back-to-Back Majors, Kim Joo-hyung Claims Victory

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South Korean golfers have achieved a historic double victory on the U.S. LPGA and PGA tours. Yoo Hae-ran climbed to the top of the Evian Championship, securing her second consecutive major title, while Kim Joo-hyung clinched his fourth career win after a two-year and nine-month drought.

Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the story.

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Yoo Hae-ran, who surged to a three-stroke lead after firing an 11-under par in the third round, faced pressure from competitors on the final day due to struggles with her putting.

As Yoo faltered, Canada's Brooke Henderson, who had been seven strokes behind, joined the title race after recording a hole-in-one.

Yoo, who had not made a single birdie through the 17th hole, finally sank her first birdie on the 18th. She then headed into a playoff against Henderson, who had finished with a dramatic eagle on the final hole.

Despite Henderson's momentum, Yoo remained composed.

In the first playoff hole on the par-5 18th, Yoo landed her second shot on the green and easily secured a birdie to seal the victory.

Following her win at the Women's PGA Championship two weeks ago, Yoo became the first Korean player in 13 years to win back-to-back majors since Park In-bee, who set a record with three consecutive major wins in 2013. Yoo has earned a total of 5 billion won in prize money from just these two tournaments.

[Yoo Hae-ran/5-time LPGA Tour winner: I thought I was a player who didn't have luck in majors. I always played poorly whenever I went to a major. But to be able to win at the tournaments I've dreamed of for the past three weeks is such an honor.]

Meanwhile, Kim Joo-hyung claimed a come-from-behind victory at the PGA Tour's Genesis Scottish Open.

Starting the final round in a tie for fourth, one stroke behind the leader, Kim fired six birdies with no bogeys to beat Australian-Korean Lee Min-woo by two strokes.

After breaking his long silence to secure his fourth career win, an emotional Kim shed tears and expressed his gratitude to Tiger Woods, who provided him with much advice during difficult times while they played on the same team in a screen golf league.

[Kim Joo-hyung/4-time PGA Tour winner: I asked Tiger Woods so many questions while we were on the same team, and he helped me a lot on several occasions. It has been three years since my last win, and he was the first person to send me a congratulatory text message.]

This marks the first time in five years that Korean players have won on both the PGA and LPGA tours on the same day, since Im Sung-jae and Ko Jin-young in 2021.

(Video Editing: Park Jung-sam)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.