Choi Hye-jin, 27, of Lotte, who had been aiming for her first LPGA Tour victory, had to settle for her third top-10 finish of the season.
Choi carded a 1-under 71 with three birdies and two bogeys in the fourth round of the Mizuho Americas Open (total purse $3.25 million) at Mountain Ridge Country Club (par 72) in West Caldwell, New Jersey, on Sunday. She finished at 8-under 280 overall, tying for third place alongside Alison Lee and Jenny Bae of the United States and Gaby Lopez of Mexico.
Since making her LPGA Tour debut in 2022, Choi has competed in 133 tournaments through this event, posting three runner-up finishes but has yet to secure her maiden victory. As of last week, she had earned $4.96 million in career prize money, ranking first in career earnings among players without a win. Although she missed the trophy, her performance marked her best result of the season since tying for fifth at the Blue Bay LPGA in March, helping her regain her form.
Choi started the day in sole third place, three strokes behind leader Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand. She gained momentum with birdies at the par-3 fourth hole and the par-5 sixth hole, but gave back all those gains with bogeys at the par-3 seventh and par-4 ninth. She rekindled her pursuit by shaving another stroke at the par-4 11th, but closed out the round with pars on the remaining seven holes without further gains.
World No. 2 Thitikul successfully defended her title. She shot 3-under on the day to finish at 13-under 275 for the championship. The winner's prize was $487,500 (about 710 million won). It was her second victory of the season following the Honda LPGA Thailand in February, and the ninth of her career.
Shin Ji-eun posted 6-under 282 to tie for seventh. Yu Hae-ran tied for 14th at 3-under, while Yoon Yi-na tied for 20th at 1-under.
