It was a round that left a bittersweet taste. Choi Hye-jin, the LPGA's all-time leading money winner without a tour victory, failed to capitalize on back-nine birdie chances but continued her pursuit.
Choi shot a 1-under 71 in the final round of the Mizuho Americas Open at Mountain Ridge Country Club (par 72) in West Caldwell, New Jersey, on Sunday, finishing tied for third at 8-under 280.
She ended five strokes behind winner Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who won at 13-under 275, and one stroke behind solo runner-up Yin Ruoning of China at 9-under 279. Choi started strong with birdies at the par-3 fourth and par-5 sixth holes, but bogeys at the par-3 seventh and par-4 ninth disrupted her momentum. She regained her rhythm with a birdie at the par-4 11th, yet missed short birdie putts at the par-5 13th and par-3 16th, letting the chase slip away. Still, Choi posted her best result of the season, surpassing her tied-fifth finish at the Blue Bay LPGA in March and raising expectations for the remainder of the year.
With the tournament earnings of $160,631, Choi climbed nine spots to 17th on the season money list with $496,026, and also moved up two places to 67th on the LPGA career money list with $6,675,602. Jang Jeong and Ayaka Furue of Japan, both two-time tour winners, slipped to 69th and 68th on the career list, respectively, falling below Choi. Although figures vary with exchange rates, Choi's $6,675,602 earned over 110 tournaments since her debut (about 9.83 billion won) puts her on the verge of surpassing the 10 billion won career earnings mark. Her ranking is expected to climb steadily for some time. She trails 63rd-placed Michelle Wie West of the U.S. ($6,825,282) by just $149,680, and sits only $389,186 behind 59th-placed Han Hee-won ($7,064,788).
"Early in the season, I was full of confidence, but as time went on, I felt a bit worn out," Choi said after the round. "I learned that even when my shots aren't perfect, I can get good results if I stay focused and manage the course well. From now on, I'll treat it as a fresh start and give my best in the remaining tournaments this season."
Shin Ji-eun finished tied for seventh at 6-under 282, while Yu Hae-ran tied for 14th at 3-under 285, Yoon Yi-na tied for 20th at 1-under 287, and Hwang You-min tied for 34th at 1-over 289.
