Jang Eun-su smiles after making her first birdie on the third hole. [Photo=KLPGA]
Jang Eun-su smiles after making her first birdie on the third hole. [Photo=KLPGA]

Jang Eun-su claimed her first KLPGA Tour victory at the Jeju Samdasoo Masters — the second-half season opener with a purse of 1 billion won ($705,000) — a decade after turning professional.

Playing the final round Sunday at Teddy Valley Golf & Resort (par 72) in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, Jang carded a bogey-free 3-under-par 69, collecting three birdies to finish at 14-under 274 and edge joint runners-up Moon Jeong-min and Kang Chae-yeon by one stroke. Her winner's check came to 180 million won.

Jang, a former national team member who won the rookie-of-the-year award in 2017 without a tournament victory, spent the past decade watching fellow rookie-class peer Park Min-ji rack up 20 KLPGA Tour wins while her own first title remained elusive. She lost her full card and dropped to the second-tier Dream Tour three times from 2020 onward, but showed a markedly improved game this year and finally lifted her first winner's trophy in her 187th tour start.

Entering the final round one stroke behind leader Kang, Jang drained a 6.5-meter birdie putt on the par-3 third hole, then stuck her tee shot to within 2.7 meters of the pin on the par-3 13th for her second birdie. A 3.2-meter birdie on the par-4 16th moved her into sole possession of the lead, and she held her nerve on the 17th and 18th to complete a one-stroke victory.

On the par-3 17th, Jang missed the green and chipped 1.5 meters past the hole, but calmly converted the par putt to escape danger. On the par-4 18th, her tee shot found the right fairway bunker, yet a thin second shot rolled up onto the green, allowing her to two-putt for par and seal her first KLPGA Tour win.

"Unlike the previous three days, my shots weren't going where I wanted today, so I wasn't expecting to win," Jang said in a post-round broadcast interview. "My caddie told me to clear my mind and just swing, and that encouragement helped me stay focused to the end." Overcome by emotion while expressing gratitude to her father, who is battling illness, Jang broke into tears during the interview.

Kang, who had led going into the final round as a conditional-status player, managed only a net 1-under 71 — two birdies against one bogey — and had to settle for a share of second at 13-under 275 alongside Moon, who fired a 7-under 65. A missed 1.3-meter par putt on the par-4 12th proved the turning point that cost Kang the title.

Moon had dreamed of a comeback win after making back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th, but Jang's birdie on the 16th had already put the title out of reach. Moon holed long-range birdie putts of 6.6 meters on the 17th and 10.7 meters on the 18th in succession, yet finished one stroke short of forcing a playoff.


sports@heraldcorp.com