South Korea’s Chun In-gee has lost her chance to end a 20-month LPGA title drought in a playoff.
Chun came up short at the weather-shortened Kingsmill Championship in a three-way playoff with Ariya Jutanugarn and Nasa Hataoka on River Course at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, on Sunday (local time). Chun was the first to be eliminated from the sudden-death play with a par on the first playoff hole, where Jutanugarn and Hataoka both birdied. Chun dropped to 0-3 in her career in LPGA playoffs.
The tournament was reduced to 54 holes after the scheduled second round was wiped out by heavy rains. Chun, also a runner-up at last year’s Kingsmill Championship, finished the regulation at 14-under 199, tied with Jutanugarn and Hataoka. Jutanugarn had the best third round of the three with 66, followed by Hataoka’s 67 and Chun’s 68.
Chun In-Gee and her illustrious career
Chun, world No. 15 and the 2016 LPGA Rookie of the Year, was seeking her first LPGA win since the Evian Championship in September 2016. Looking at her history, she first won the Women’s Open Golf Championship in 2015. She also won the 2016 Evian Championship. She had a score of 21 under par. Meaning, she had the lowest winning score in a major tournament. This record is for both men and women. Also, she made another record last 2015. She was the first player in history to win majors in 3 different tournaments in a calendar year. She won 2 majors in the KLPGA Tour, the Hite Jinro and the KB Financial Star Championships. Then in the JLPGA, she won 2 majors again. Chun won the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup as well as the Japan Women’s Open Golf Championship.
Lastly, on the LPGA Tour, she won one major in the US Women’s Open. And since she won the 2016 Evian Championship, she also broke records again Together with Se Ri Pak, they are the only 2 LPGA players in history to win majors as the first two LPGA titles. Chun went to represent the country in Rio for the 2016 Olympics.
This was Chun’s second top-10 finish in seven starts this year. She began the year at No. 5 in the world but has slipped to No. 15 through last week’s rankings. Despite this, she remains as one of the favorites by those who bet on golf.
