The moment I've dreamed of since I was young, a Chinese national player speaks fluent Korean... Li Shu-ying wins his first KLPGA regular tour debut, and wins the first foreign player in 10 years

Oct 26, 2025

The moment I've dreamed of since I was young, a Chinese national player speaks fluent Korean... Li Shu-ying wins his first KLPGA regular tour debut, and wins the first foreign player in 10 years
Lee Shu-ying Kwangnam Ilbo Happiness Open FR 18th holeout



The moment Li Shuying (22, CJ), a Chinese national, won his first regular tour title at the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) KLPGA Tour Gwangnam Ilbo and Happiness Open (total prize money of 1 billion won) held at Happiness CC (par 72, 6,727 yards) in Naju, Jeollanam-do on the 26th.

Despite the chilly weather, many Korean players sincerely celebrated their first victory by spraying water. He seems to be close to Korean players. I wondered if there would be a language barrier, but the curiosity was solved quickly.

In a broadcast interview, Li Shue-ying responded to the interview in fluent Korean, saying, `I can't believe how I won my first championship.'




There is a reason. Born in Shanghai, China, he was born to a Korean father and a Chinese mother. My father is Korean and has lived in Korea since he was eight years old, so he is fluent in Korean. There is no language barrier with Korean players and they have a good personality, so we have no choice but to be close.

On the last day of the tournament held at Happiness CC (par 72, 6,727 yards) in Naju, Jeollanam-do on the 26th, Li Shueing recorded a 4-under 68 with six birdies and two bogeys in the third round, winning by two strokes with a final total of 11-under 205. The prize money is 180 million won.

The winner of the KLPGA regular tour, the first foreign player in 10 years since Haru Nomura (Japan), who won the Hanwha Financial Classic in September 2015. Li Shuying is the first Chinese national to win a KLPGA regular tour tournament.
The moment I've dreamed of since I was young, a Chinese national player speaks fluent Korean... Li Shu-ying wins his first KLPGA regular tour debut, and wins the first foreign player in 10 years
Lee Shu-ying Kwangnam Ilbo presents the prize money for winning the Happiness Open FR
The moment I've dreamed of since I was young, a Chinese national player speaks fluent Korean... Li Shu-ying wins his first KLPGA regular tour debut, and wins the first foreign player in 10 years
Lee Shu-ying Kwangnam Ilbo Happiness Open FR Winning Jacket Hanbok
Li Shu-ying is the first foreign player to debut on a regular tour through the same process as a domestic player since KLPGA opened up all quasi-member selection and jump tours to give foreign players a chance to enter the domestic tour.

With two wins on the 2022 Jump Tour, he played as a rookie on the 2023 regular tour. Li Shu-ying, who won the KLPGA PharmaResearch Li Ju-ran Dream Tour King of Kings last year, won the long-awaited title after tying for fourth place twice at the beginning of the season on the regular tour this season.

Li Shueing, who started the final round tied for eighth place, two strokes behind the leader until the second round, won the game with a 15-meter chip-in birdie on the 14th hole (par 4). He made a bogey with a miss on the 16th hole (par 4), but he dropped his second shot on the fringe with his unique long shot on the next hole, the 17th hole (par 5), and then stuck it on the hole 1m to birdie and secure the championship.

Li Shu-ying added "The 14th hole with a chip-in birdie was in crisis. The tee shot was also a miss. I wanted to make a safe par save and move on, but I thought the flow was good because Buddy came out"It was a turning point," he said. As for the 16th hole miss and the 17th hole bounce back, he had no idea " at all. I asked my brother if he was still in the championship, but he didn't tell me. "I saw the leaderboard once in the 10th hole and didn't see it. At No. 17, he said it was the right to win the bounce back, so I thought we should reduce it until the end even if it's one shot."
The moment I've dreamed of since I was young, a Chinese national player speaks fluent Korean... Li Shu-ying wins his first KLPGA regular tour debut, and wins the first foreign player in 10 years
Lee Shu-ying Kwangnam Ilbo Happiness Open FR No. 2 tee shot
As for his first career victory, Li Shu-ying said "It's a happy moment I've dreamed of since I was young. I can't believe it, and I'm so grateful that I even won this year because I wanted to challenge myself more. I will work harder and become a good player in the future." Li Shu-ying wore a hanbok and smiled brightly at the ceremony.

Madasom and Park Hye-joon, who were tied for first place until the second round, finished the tournament with Park Joo-young, Yoo Ji-na and Park So-hye at 9-under 207 and tied for second place.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.