Kim Min-sol has secured her third victory of the season and the fifth of her career after winning a playoff at the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour McCol-Mona Yongpyong Open (total prize money of 1 billion won).

On Sunday, June 28, Kim defeated Choi Ye-rim in a second playoff hole during the final round of the tournament held at Birch Hill Country Club (par 72) in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.

Kim and Choi were tied at 12-under 204 after regulation play, leading them to a playoff on the 18th hole (par 5).

After both players parred the first playoff hole, they moved on to a second.

While this tournament has seen playoffs four times (2018, 2021, 2024, and 2026), this was the first time a playoff extended to a second hole.

Choi missed a 5.6-meter birdie putt and finished with a par, while Kim sank a 3.6-meter birdie putt to clinch the victory.

Having earned her first win of the season at the iM Financial Open in April and her second at the 40th Korea Women's Open Golf Championship, which concluded on June 14, Kim became the first player this season to reach three victories following today's thrilling playoff win.

"I realized once again that winning is never easy," Kim said. "My game wasn't going well in the front nine, so I decided to just have fun and learn as much as I could. Once I changed my mindset, my play improved."

She added, "I never dreamed I would reach three wins in the first half of the season. Since I have come this far, I want to work even harder to finish the remaining season on a high note."

Meanwhile, Choi Ye-rim, who finished as the runner-up after a playoff against Park Hyun-kyung in the 2024 tournament, fell in a playoff once again after two years, missing her chance for a maiden victory.

Since debuting on the regular tour in 2018, Choi has accumulated nine runner-up finishes (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026) without a win, failing to break her runner-up jinx.

With the winner's prize of 180 million won, Kim solidified her lead in the cumulative prize money rankings with 963,091,428 won. She also moved to the top of the Player of the Year (Daesang) points race with 313 points, overtaking fellow 2006-born golfer Seo Gyo-rim (277 points).

Kim, who recorded two wins last year, also maintains her lead in the Rookie of the Year points (1,434 points), putting her on track for a clean sweep of the season's major awards.

Starting the final day in second place, two strokes behind leader Noh Seung-hee, Kim struggled early with consecutive bogeys on the 5th and 6th holes, appearing to fall out of contention. However, she recovered by sinking her first birdie on the 7th hole (par 4).

Kim was a different player in the back nine.

After a birdie on the 10th hole (par 5), she added another on the 12th (par 3) and a third on the 14th (par 4) to take sole possession of the lead.

Kim moved closer to victory on the 17th hole (par 3) when her tee shot landed 1.5 meters from the hole, setting up a successful birdie putt.


However, Choi emerged as a late challenger.

Choi birdied the 17th hole and followed up with another birdie on the 18th (par 5) to finish her round at 12-under 204.

Kim finished the 18th hole with a par, forcing the playoff, where she ultimately emerged victorious.

Seo Gyo-rim, who had been competing with Kim for the first three-win milestone after winning the Incar Financial The Heaven Masters last week, finished the tournament tied for 10th at 7-under 209.

(Photo: Courtesy of KLPGA, Yonhap News)