Ko Ji-woo's younger brother Ko Ji-won, who would have been more alienated without her sister, thanked Chairman Samchully for his first victory in his debut.
Aug 10, 2025
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Jeju native Ko Ji-won (21, Samchully) won his first KLPGA regular tour title in his hometown in his 61st tournament.
In the final fourth round of the KLPGA Tour's Jeju Samdasoo Masters (total prize money of 1 billion won) held at Cypress Golf & Resort Book & West Course (par 72) in Seogwipo, Jeju Island on the 10th, Ko Ji-won recorded 69 strokes with three birdies without a bogey and won the title by two strokes with a total of 21-under 267.
Ko Ji-won, who secured 180 million won in prize money, rose to 19th place (337.27 million won) in the prize money ranking.
Ko Ji-won is the younger brother of Ko Ji-woo (23, Samchully), who has won three games in total. He is a KLPGA strong player who has won one game every season for the past three years from 2023 to this year.
Ko Ji-won's presence was minimal compared to her sister. Since last year's seed match ranking is not high, there is no right to participate in the tour of all games this season. a regular tour player who participates whenever there is a vacancy. Go Ji-won, who also plays the Dream Tour, has been known only as 'Ko Ji-woo's younger brother'.
But last winter was the turning point. Ko Ji-won, who increased her distance with intense physical training, won the long-awaited title after two consecutive weeks of competition to win the Aurora World Championship last week.
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When asked in a broadcast interview after the win about 'feeling alienated from her sister's performance or rival consciousness', he said "There is no rivalry consciousness." He showed off his strong friendship by saying, "I would have been more alienated without my older sister. I think it was because of my sister that I was able to do this." Ko Ji-woo celebrated his younger brother's victory after cutting three strokes and finishing the tournament tied for 41st at 8-under par.
Ko Ji-won, who was scheduled to return to the Dream Tour after this tournament, graduated from the Dream Tour early, qualifying for all the remaining KLPGA regular tours this season with this victory. In addition, this victory secured the regular tour seed until 2027.
Ko Ji-won also won her first championship following her sister Ko Ji-woo's three wins, setting a real record of winning the KLPGA tour for the second time after Park Hee-young and Park Chu-young.
Ko Ji-won, who started the final round with an 18-under-par sole No. 1 at 6-under throughout the third round in inclement weather, was firmly in the lead with unshakable play. The bitter experience of allowing Bae So-hyun to come from behind to win the last tournament helped.
Ko Ji-won, who cut two strokes with two birdies in the first half, continued his par streak in the second half. Noh Seung-hee and Yoon Na-na, who competed in the championship group, rarely narrowed the gap. Ko Ji-won faced a bogey crisis when his chip shot on the green fell short on the 15th hole (par 4), but he managed a 3.1m par putt to keep the gap. Noh Seung-hee, who was chasing by two strokes, put his third shot right next to the hole with a great shot that almost became a shot eagle on the 18th hole (par 5), but Ko Ji-won set up a third shot inside 1 meter without shaking, decorating the winning putt with a birdie and cheering. The first victory ceremony in front of my parents and many relatives who came to cheer for the victory in my hometown of Jeju.
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Next to Ko Ji-won, who went through four years of hard work since her official debut in 2022, not only her family, including her parents and older sister, but also her family-like sponsor Samchully. The player who 'supports hard and potential prospects from a long-term perspective' fits Samcheon-ri's unique philosophy of nurturing talent. I didn't doubt his growth as a KLPGA representative player who was on par with his sister Ko Ji-woo someday without worrying about his performance. Samchully's eye was on point. Bright and cheerful positive energy Go Ji-won worked tirelessly and succeeded in winning the fruit of winning. He is a rookie who has a long shot as Yoon and sophisticated putt skills. The competition for the second consecutive championship was no coincidence. It was a day that marked the beginning of the Go Ji-won era.
When asked to say something to fans at the end of the interview, Ko Ji-won said, `First of all, there are people I want to thank"I would like to say thank you to Chairman Lee Man-deuk, advisors, executives and employees for trusting and supporting us despite our poor performance."," he said with sincerity.
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Photo provided = KLPGA
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.