“Thinking about winning Rookie of the Year after winning the Walmart competition”
Hae-ran Choi (Dow Jones Financial Group) remained humble after winning rookie of the year honors on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour.
At a press conference before the LPGA Tour’s final event, the CME Group Tour Championship ($7 million in prize money) at Tiburon Golf Club (Par 72) in Naples, Florida, on Sept. 16 (KST), Hae-ran expressed her feelings about being crowned rookie of the year.
When asked when he realized he was going to win Rookie of the Year, he said it was when he won his debut last September, according to the LPGA Tour. “It was a goal of mine before the season started,” she said, “and after I won the Walmart, I thought I had a chance to win Rookie of the Year.”
His most memorable moment of the year also came when he got his first win. “I was most grateful when I got my first win after my tour debut,” he said.
When asked what grade he would give himself this season, he said a B+. “I could give myself an A for playing well, but I think a B+ is probably the best grade I can give myself,” he said.
Earlier in the week, Haziran finished in a tie for 12th place at The Annika Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Golf Club (Par 70) in Belleair, Florida, USA.
Competing with Grace Kim (AUS) for the Rookie of the Year crown, Hae-ran Lee’s performance secured the award regardless of the outcome of the remaining events.
It is the first time in four years that a South Korean athlete has won Rookie of the Year since Lee Jung-six in 2019. She is the 14th Korean to win the award. Park Se-ri (1998), Kim Mi-hyun (1999), Han Hee-won (2001), Ahn Shi-hyun (2004), Lee Sun-hwa (2006), Shin Ji-ae (2009), Seo Hee-kyung (2011), Yoo So-yeon (2012), Kim Se-young (2015), Jeon In-ji (2016), Park Sung-hyun (2017), Ko Jin-young (2018) and Lee Jeong-six (2019) followed. 19가이드03