Now, on the 2023 season Korea Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour, which has completed six tournaments, two newcomers have left a deep impression on golf fans. One is Kim Min-byeol (19), who ranks first in the rookie rankings with a streak of ‘three consecutive top 10’ even at the beginning of the season. Another would be Bang Sin-sil (19), who competed for the championship until the end at the Chris F&C 45th KLPGA Championship, the first major tournament of the season, and tied for 4th place.
And while he’s never been in the top 10 yet, there’s one more player that golf fans should keep an eye out for throughout 2023. It is Hwang Yoo-min (20) who finished the 45th KLPGA Championship of Chris FNC and finally rose to the top of the long drive rankings.
Hwang Yu-min left a deep impression by competing for the championship with Park Min-ji at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, which she competed as an amateur last year, and finished runner-up. Last year, she also won two consecutive victories on the third-part tour, the Jump Tour, but since debuting as a rookie on the KLPGA tour this year, she has yet to show off any achievements.
Her best finish since her KLPGA debut is a tie for 26th at the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open, and her second best finish is a tie for 28th at the Chris F&C 45th KLPGA Championship last week. However, she has not yet been cut off and is ranked second after Kim Min-byul in the rookie rankings.
The biggest reason to pay attention to him is his long hitting power overcoming his short stature of 163 cm above all else. Hwang Yoo-min, who averages 259.48 yards this season, is running first in the long hit rankings, surpassing second place Kim Su-ji (258.36 yards).
It is a problem that his accuracy is somewhat lacking as he ranks 75th in the fairway landing rate (66.88%), but his power-filled slugging power is presenting a hot play.
The KLPGA tour only publishes statistics as a ‘consecutive buddy record’ if it is 4 or more times, and Hwang Yu-min is the only player among the 12 records released this year to be named twice.
In the first round of the Lotte Rent-A-Car Women’s Open held in early April, she made four consecutive birdies from holes 13 to 16, and at the Nexen Saint Nine Masters held in late April, she also dropped four consecutive birdies from holes 9 to 12 in the third round. Based on this long hitting ability, Hwang Yoo-min is also ranked 5th with an average birdie ranking of 3.50.
A closer look at Hwang Yu-min’s performance in the past five competitions gives off a rather impatient impression. This is because he gets an outrageous score every tournament.
Just looking at the Chris F&C 45th KLPGA Championship, Hwang Yoo-min, who started with a tie for 41st (72 strokes) on the first day, climbed to a tie for 11th (69 strokes) in the second round and a tie for 9th (70 strokes) in the third round, then hit 76 on the final day. Tied for 28th place. It was fatal that he committed 4 consecutive bogeys from the 13th hole to the 16th hole in the second half.
Looking at other competitions, he scored 79 on the final day of the PLK Pacific Rings Korea Championship, 81 in the 3rd round of the Lotte Rent-A-Car Women’s Open, and 77 in the 2nd round of the Nexen/Saint Nine Masters.ㅋㅋㅋ벳
Hwang Yoo-min, who will compete in the Kyochon 1991 Ladies Open, which will be held from the 5th of this week, will be looking forward to the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship to be held at Suwon CC on the 12th rather than this tournament.
This is because it is the very tournament in which she had to give up her dream of winning last year after fighting for the championship with Park Min-ji and committing a bogey on the last hole on the final day and not even going to overtime.
May, which makes the heart of 20-year-old Yumin Hwang, who dreams of becoming a ‘super rookie’, has just begun.
