Lee Ye-won wins S-OIL Championship amid strong winds for 11th career title

3-stroke victory with 1-under final round; second win of season

Kim Min-sol breaks 1.6 billion won single-season earnings record in KLPGA history

Lee Ye-won poses with the trophy after winning the final round of the 20th S-OIL Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Elysian Jeju Country Club in Jeju on Sunday. [KLPGA]

Lee Ye-won delivered a composed performance amid fierce winds Sunday to claim her second KLPGA Tour victory of the season and 11th of her career.

Playing the final round of the 20th S-OIL Championship — a 1 billion won ($749,000) purse event at Elysian Jeju Country Club (par 72) in Jeju — Lee carded two birdies and one bogey for a 1-under-par 71. Her total score of 12-under 276 was three strokes clear of runner-up Moon Jeong-min (9-under 279), earning Lee the winner's check of 180 million won.

Entering the final round one stroke behind third-round leader Lee Ji-hyeon, Lee trimmed her score despite the blustery conditions. Lee drained a 5.3-meter birdie putt on the par-4 second hole, then stuck her approach to within a meter on the par-4 eighth to make another birdie. A bogey on the par-3 12th was her only blemish of the day, but Lee parred every remaining hole to hold the lead.

Lee had claimed her first win of the season at the second Duksin EPC Championship in April, and Sunday's victory marked a return to the top roughly seven months later. Season earnings rose to 934.06 million won, lifting Lee from fifth to fourth on the money list.

The strong winds made scoring extremely difficult: of the 68 players in the field, only four — including Lee — finished under par for the round. Lee Ji-hyeon, who had held the outright lead through three rounds, stumbled to a 6-over 78 and dropped into a tie for third.

Lee Ye-won celebrates after clinching victory in the final round of the 20th S-OIL Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Elysian Jeju Country Club in Jeju on Sunday. [KLPGA]

Meanwhile, Kim Min-sol carded a 3-over 75 Sunday to finish at 3-under 285, tying for 12th. The 11.74 million won earned pushed Kim's season total to 1.6 billion won, making her the first player in KLPGA Tour history to surpass 1.6 billion won in a single season.

The gap between money-list leader Kim and second-place Seo Gyo-rim (1.41 billion won) stands at 188.6 million won. The money title race will be decided at the season-ending Daebo House-D Championship, which carries a 1.2 billion won purse and a 300 million won first prize and opens Friday. The most-wins title and player-of-the-year award will also be settled at the finale.

The tournament also marked the final opportunity for players to secure a full-tour card for the 2027 season. Only players ranked in the top 60 on the money list are eligible for the season finale, making this event the last chance to lock up a card.

Kim Ji-yun secured a card for next season by holding 60th place on the money list with 171.13 million won in seasonal earnings. Lee Jae-yun, however, finished 61st with 167.77 million won and will have to compete in a qualifying event for a chance to return to the full tour.

Kim Min-sol plays an iron shot on the second hole during the final round of the 20th S-OIL Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Elysian Jeju Country Club in Jeju on Sunday. [KLPGA]

yjc@heraldcorp.com