Yoo Hae-ran (22) challenges to come-from-behind victory at the JM Eagle LA Championship (total prize money of 3 million dollars) on the LPGA Tour.
In the third round of the tournament held at the Wilshire Country Club (par 71) in Los Angeles, California, USA on the 30th (Korean time), Hae-Ran Yoo made 6 birdies and 2 bogeys and hit 4 under par 67.
Hae-Ran Yu, who recorded a total of 7 under par 206 strokes until the 3rd round, raised her ranking to a tie for second place chasing her sole leader Cheyenne Knight (USA) by two strokes.
Hae-ran Yu, who passed last year’s LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament as a senior and made her debut at the Drive-On Championship in March of this year, tied for second place by one stroke with the lead in the third round at the time, and her come-from-behind victory was expected. On the last day, he only reduced one stroke, ending the tournament in a tie for 7th place.
Yoo Hae-ran, who is challenging to win the come-from-behind championship again in this tournament, is determined not to repeat his disappointment at the time. Yoo Hae-ran, who plays Champion Joe with the lead knight in the final round, firmly said, “I think I will be a little less nervous because I experienced Champion Joe in the Drive On Championship.”
Yoo Hae-ran said, “At the time, I played too defensively. He had a strong thought that mistakes should not be made,” he said. “I will try to play more aggressively this week because the irons are also good.”
He is considered a strong candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, but Grace Kim (Australia) first won the rookie of the year at the Lotte Championship in the middle of this month and is currently ranked first in the rookie award rankings. Yoo Hae-ran is ranked third in this category, following Grace Kim and Natakrita Wongtawirap (Thailand).
Yoo Hae-ran jumped into the lead by catching three birdies in the last six holes. He caught consecutive birdies on the 13th hole (par 5) and 14th hole (par 3), and caught a chip-in birdie on the 16th hole (par 4).
Yoo Hae-ran missed the fairway only once, and the green hit rate was 67.7% (12/18). The number of putts, which had risen to 29 in the second round, was reduced to 26.
He said, “Yesterday, I made a mistake on a short putt and finished the game, so I practiced a lot. Fortunately, there were fewer mistakes today. I made one short putt mistake, but the score came out a little better because I was more nervous and putt.” ㅋㅋㅋ벳
After bogeying on the 11th hole (par 4), he caught a birdie by putting his shot close to the pin in the bunker on the 13th hole (par 5).
Yoo Hae-ran said, “I always think about my play, excluding winning, but it would be a great honor to win in my rookie season.”
Knight, the sole lead, two strokes ahead of Yoo Hae-ran, took one eagle and two birdies that day, reducing four strokes and recording a total of 9 under par, 204 strokes. Her victory at the Volunteers of America Classic in October 2019 is her only LPGA Tour victory. In this tournament, I challenge for a total of 2 wins in 3 years and 6 months.
Hannah Green (Australia), who has won 2 wins (1 major win) on the tour, was tied for 2nd place (7 under par 206 strokes) with Yoo Hae-ran.
Anna Lin (27), who is in her second year on the tour this year, reduced 3 strokes to finish tied for 7th (4 under par 209 strokes).