Kim Bo-kyung poses with the winner's trophy. [Photo=KLPGA]
Kim Bo-kyung poses with the winner's trophy. [Photo=KLPGA]

Kim Bo-kyung (40) claimed victory at the KLPGA 2026 Eastone Ocean Beach Champions Tour 8th event, which carried a purse of 70 million won, after a playoff.

In the final round Thursday at Ocean Beach Golf & Resort's Ocean-Beach Course (par 72, 5,962 yards) in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province, Kim fired a 6-under-par 66 to finish at 12-under 132, level with Lee Jeong-eun 3 (41) and Moon Ji-young 2 (42), who shared second place.

Kim then birdied the first playoff hole — the par-5 18th — from 1.5 meters to defeat Lee and Moon, both of whom made par, and lift her second trophy of the season.

"Early on, I fell quite a few strokes behind the leader, so I stopped thinking about winning and just played with a clear mind," Kim said. "I made three consecutive birdies on holes 16 through 18 and was able to finish strong. I'm even happier because the win came when I least expected it."

Kim joined the KLPGA in August 2004 and has four victories on the regular tour, beginning with the Doosan Match Play title in the 2008 season. Now 40, she is competing on the Champions Tour this year. She won her debut Champions Tour event — the KLPGA 2026 Champions Classic 1st event — becoming the ninth player in tour history to win in her first start.

The victory gives Kim two wins this season, drawing level with Bae Kyung-eun (41) in the race for the most wins title. Kim added a winner's check of 10.5 million won ($7,670), lifting her season earnings to 41.19 million won and moving her to third on the money list.

The final round of the tournament, co-hosted by Eastone Ocean Beach Golf & Resort and SBS Golf and organized by the KLPGA, will be broadcast on a tape-delay basis on SBS Golf starting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21.


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