What would have happened if Yoon Yina's tee shot on the par-3 17th hole had been a hole-in-one? There are no "what ifs" in golf, but the shot that narrowly missed the cup was spectacular — and all the more regrettable for it.
At the LPGA Tour's JM Eagle LA Championship, which concluded Sunday at El Caballero Country Club (par 72) in Los Angeles, California, Hannah Green of Australia won in a playoff after tying with Kim Sei-young and Lim Jin-hee at 17-under 271. Yoon finished one stroke short of the playoff, wrapping up the tournament in solo fourth place at 16-under 272.
Yoon made a strong start with a birdie on the par-5 first hole, but wavered with bogeys on the par-4 third, par-4 fifth, and par-5 seventh holes — dropping shots every other hole. She turned things around on the back nine, however, with consecutive birdies on the par-4 10th and par-5 11th, then vaulted up the leaderboard with an eagle on the par-5 16th. On the 17th, her tee shot came within a hand's width of the cup, setting up an easy birdie. After a par on the final 18th hole, Yoon shot a 3-under 69 and, while missing the playoff, capped her best week on tour with her career-best finish of solo fourth. Her previous best was a tied-sixth finish at the Ford Championship, which ended late last month.
The statistics following the tournament raise expectations for a standout year. Yoon climbed to 16th in CME Globe Points and, adding $252,937 in prize money from this event, jumped to 14th on the money list with $400,257. In driving distance — her signature strength — she ranked 12th at 282.73 yards, the highest among Korean players, and her greens in regulation rate was a solid 23rd at 73.15%. In scoring average, she ranked 17th at 70.50, putting a top-10 spot within reach. Above all, she showed her aggressive game with 15th place in birdies (95) and sixth in eagles (4), hinting at her potential.
Riding a recent run of tied sixth, tied 17th, and solo fourth, Yoon will pursue her third top-10 finish of the season at this week's Chevron Championship, the year's first major. That top-10 goal, of course, includes a potential victory.
After the round, Yoon said, "It was the best week of my career since my debut. I made a lot of mistakes, but I'm proud of myself." She added, "Honestly, I want to get my first win this year."
