Hyo-Joo Kim, 2012 Suntory Ladies Open
The winners just keep getting younger in women’s golf. 16-year old amateur Hyo-Joo Kim of South Korea became the youngest winner ever on the JLPGA by capturing the title at the 2012 Suntory Ladies Open. Not only did Kim triumph at Rokko Kosugai Golf Club in Hyogo prefecture, Japan but she did so in dominant fashion, her 17-under 4 shots clear of second place Miki Saiki and 6 shots clear of a trio of players tied for third place. How did the precocious 16-year old manage to best a field including seasoned JLPGA champions? She did so with a stunning 11-under 61 which featured 11 birdies and no bogeys. Kim torched the front side with a 7-under 29 going out. She played every round under par (71-71-68-61) but that blistering denouement might have been the round of her young life so far. And this was her first event ever on the Japanese tour! What’s more, this is no fluke. Hyo-Joo won the 2012 Lotte Mart Ladies Open on the KLPGA by 9 shots! I don’t know what her future plans are, though something tells me it might involve the LPGA in the United States, but maybe her team should have her turn pro so she can put some cash in her bank account. Previous to this win by Kim, the youngest winner on the JLPGA had been Ai Miyazato, who won the 2003 Dunlop Ladies Open at 18 year old. Ai-sama was also an amateur at the time, still attending high school.
HYO-JOO KIM
BO-BAE SONG
JI-HEE LEE
KAORI AOYAMA
MAYU HATTORI
MI-JEONG JEON
MIKI SAIKI
RIKAKO MORITA
SAKURA YOKOMINE
SOO-YUN KANG
SUN-JU AHN
YUKI ICHINOSE
| Position | Player | ToPar | Thru | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ＠Hyo-Joo Kim | -17 | F | -11 |
| 2 | Miki Saiki | -13 | F | -7 |
| 3 | Yuki Ichinose | -11 | F | -5 |
| Mi-Jeong Jeon | -11 | F | -3 | |
| Mayu Hattori | -11 | F | +2 | |
| 6 | Bo-Bae Song | -10 | F | -3 |
| 7 | Sun-Ju Ahn | -9 | F | -4 |
| Sakura Yokomine | -9 | F | -4 | |
| Soo-Yun Kang | -9 | F | -3 | |
| 10 | Ji-Hee Lee | -8 | F | E |
| 11 | Yukari Baba | -6 | F | -5 |
| 12 | Da-Ye Na | -5 | F | -5 |
| Ritsuko Ryu | -5 | F | -2 | |
| Ya-Huei Lu | -5 | F | -1 | |
| Rikako Morita | -5 | F | +2 | |
| 16 | Shinobu Moromizato | -4 | F | -5 |
| Miki Sakai | -4 | F | -4 | |
| Bo-Mee Lee | -4 | F | -3 | |
| Teresa Lu | -4 | F | -2 | |
| Kaori Aoyama | -4 | F | +2 | |
| 21 | Erika Kikuchi | -3 | F | -5 |
| Yuri Fudoh | -3 | F | -3 | |
| Mihoko Iseri | -3 | F | -3 | |
| Na-Ri Kim | -3 | F | -2 | |
| Mikiko Nishi | -3 | F | -1 | |
| Natsuka Hori | -3 | F | -1 | |
| Nikki Campbell | -3 | F | E | |
| Maiko Wakabayashi | -3 | F | E | |
| 29 | Mina Nakayama | -2 | F | -1 |
| Hyun-Ju Shin | -2 | F | +2 | |
| 31 | Esther Lee | -1 | F | -4 |
| Kaori Nakamura | -1 | F | -3 | |
| Nozomi Inoue | -1 | F | -2 | |
| Natsu Nagai | -1 | F | -2 | |
| Shiho Toyonaga | -1 | F | -1 | |
| Hiromi Mogi | -1 | F | E | |
| Na-Ri Lee | -1 | F | E | |
| ＠Yumi Matsubara | -1 | F | +1 | |
| Kotono Kozuma | -1 | F | +2 | |
| 40 | So-Hee Kim | E | F | -1 |
| ＠Mamiko Higa | E | F | E | |
| Aoi Nagata | E | F | +1 | |
| Eriko Sonoda | E | F | +2 | |
| 44 | Yeo-Jin Kang | +1 | F | +1 |
| 45 | Yumiko Yoshida | +2 | F | E |
| Pei-Lin Yu | +2 | F | +3 | |
| Ayako Uehara | +2 | F | +3 | |
| Young Kim | +2 | F | +3 | |
| Yun-Jye Wei | +2 | F | +6 | |
| 50 | Megumi Kido | +3 | F | E |
| Mayumi Shimomura | +3 | F | +1 | |
| Miyari Honda | +3 | F | +1 | |
| Ah-Reum Hwang | +3 | F | +2 | |
| Onnarin Sattayabanphot | +3 | F | +3 | |
| 55 | Ayako Okazaki | +4 | F | -2 |
| Yoshimi Koda | +4 | F | E | |
| 57 | Li-Ying Ye | +5 | F | +3 |
| 58 | Rie Murata | +6 | F | +2 |
| 59 | Ji-Woo Lee | +7 | F | +4 |
| ＠Akane Saeki | +7 | F | +5 | |
| Hiromi Takesue | +7 | F | +5 | |
| 62 | Junko Omote | +8 | F | +6 |
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