Ma Seo-young kisses the winner's trophy. [Photo=KLPGA]
Ma Seo-young kisses the winner's trophy. [Photo=KLPGA]

Little-known Ma Seo-young claimed her first career title at the KLPGA Tour's Iceberg Golf-Seoul Shinmun Open, defeating Seong Yu-jin in a playoff to become the tournament's inaugural champion. The event carried a purse of 1.5 billion won ($1.11 million).

Playing in wind and rain Sunday at H1 Club (par 72) in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Ma entered the final round as the leader but carded two birdies and three bogeys to finish 1 over for the day, ending regulation at 4 under par (212) — level with Seong.

The two halved the first playoff hole with pars before returning to the 18th hole (par 4) for a second sudden-death hole. Ma hit her second shot safely onto the green and two-putted for par from 8.4 meters. Seong, by contrast, flew the green with her second shot, then chipped too long and left herself 7 meters past the hole. Her lengthy par putt missed, handing Ma the title.

The victory earned Ma a winner's check of 270 million won and rocketed her 33 spots up the money list, from 55th to 22nd. She also secured her KLPGA Tour card through 2028. Without the win, Ma would have faced a nerve-wracking battle to stay inside the top 60 on the money list through the season finale to retain her card for next year.

Ma debuted on the KLPGA Tour in 2023 but was relegated to the second-tier Dream Tour the following year. She returned to the main tour last year, only to finish 104th on the money list — forcing her to survive the grueling qualifying series known as the "race from hell" to earn her card back for this season.

Lee Ye-won and Kim Si-hyeon finished tied for third at 3 under par (213). Lee narrowly missed the playoff after making a bogey on the 18th hole.

Kim Min-ju dropped one shot on the final day to finish at 2 under par (214), sharing fifth place with Kim Min-sol and Lee Chae-eun 2. Kim had briefly led after back-to-back birdies on the first two holes, but her tee shot on the par-3 8th was ruled a lost ball, leading to a double bogey that ended her title bid.

Ryu Hae-ran carded a 2-over 74 to finish at 6 over par (222), sharing 42nd place. Yun I-na struggled to a 5-over 77 and ended the tournament at 9 over par (225), tied for 53rd alongside Lee Jeong-eun 6.


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