Shin Yu-jin claimed victory at the KLPGA 2026 Phoenix Country Club Dream Tour Round 9, which carried a total purse of 70 million won ($45,300) and a winner's share of 10.5 million won.
In the first round played Monday at Phoenix Country Club (par 71, 6,378 yards) in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Province, Shin carded 11 birdies and one bogey for a 10-under-par 61, taking sole first place on the Mountain-Lake course.
The second and final round, scheduled for Tuesday, was canceled due to heavy fog, leaving the first-round scores to determine the winner. Shin's victory was confirmed as a result.
"In the first round, everything played out exactly as I imagined — it felt like I was playing a video game, and I had a lot of fun out there," Shin said. "The moment the win was confirmed, the first thing that came to mind was that I wouldn't have to go to next week's Dream Tour seed ranking event, and I'm just so happy."
Shin served as a national team reserve player in 2020 and made her KLPGA regular tour debut in the 2023 season. After a difficult stretch of results, she has been competing on the Dream Tour this season.
Hong Su-min (19, KB Financial Group) finished second at 5-under-par 66, while Jo I-an (22), Kim Yu-min (25), Yoo A-hyun (19) and Gil Ye-ram (20, Rejuran) shared third place at 4-under-par 67.
The victory lifted Shin to 17th on the season money list with cumulative earnings of 12,733,643 won, while Yoo A-hyun reclaimed the top spot — with 28,216,500 won in cumulative earnings — just two tournaments after losing it.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
