The leader of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour money ranking changed this week. Lee Ye-won, who topped the list last week, dropped to second place with 375.73 million won, while Kim Min-sol, who was second last week, reclaimed the lead with 376.31 million won.
While Lee Ye-won was competing on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour, Kim Min-sol earned 6.6 million won by tying for 47th at the E1 Charity Open, enough to reverse the standings. The gap between the two players is so narrow that even a small change could swap the top spot. Currently, the difference stands at just 580,000 won.
Another record was added to KLPGA money history this week. The fifth player ever joined the "5 billion won club" in career earnings. The latest entrant is Lee Da-yeon, who tied for third at the E1 Charity Open. In her 206th tournament appearance, Lee earned 65 million won, bringing her career earnings to 5.04628 billion won.
Until recently, only three players had crossed the 5 billion won career earnings mark: Park Min-ji (6.62378 billion won), Jang Ha-na (5.77049 billion won), and Park Ji-young (5.68231 billion won). This year alone, two more players have joined them. Earlier this month, Park Hyun-kyung crossed the 5 billion won threshold first by finishing solo second at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, ahead of Lee Da-yeon. After tying for 26th at this week's E1 Charity Open, Park's career earnings rose to 5.09119 billion won.
In this year's seasonal money ranking, Park Hyun-kyung sits eighth with 267.57 million won, while Lee Da-yeon ranks 12th with 229.56 million won. Just behind Lee in 13th place with 217.68 million won is Jaravee Boonchant, who became the first Thai player to win on the KLPGA Tour at the E1 Charity Open.
Two more players are expected to join the "5 billion won club" within this year. The candidates are Kim Su-ji, sixth in career earnings with 4.77129 billion won, and Lee Ye-won, seventh with 4.59058 billion won. Kim needs 228.71 million won and Lee needs 409.42 million won to reach the 5 billion won mark. Given their pace of earnings this year, it is unclear who will reach the milestone first. While Lee Ye-won ranks second in the seasonal money ranking, Kim Su-ji sits at 26th with 98.08 million won. However, Kim's game is heating up, having tied for ninth at the E1 Charity Open and tied for fifth at the DB Women's Championship three weeks ago.
