Sung Yoo-jin Sung was lucky to win the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour’s Essoil Championship after heavy rain.

The fourth round of the tournament, held at Elysian Jeju Country Club (Par 72) in Jeju City on Friday, was suspended twice due to heavy rain.

Sung Yoo-jin, who led the tournament after three rounds, won with a 12-under-par 204, according to the tournament rules.

It was Sung’s second title of the season and third of her career after winning the Doosan Match Play Championship in May. She earned $162,000 for her victory.

After starting the fourth round with a one-stroke lead, Sung three-putted for bogey at the first (par-5) and then double-bogeyed the fourth (par-4) after being penalised for putting her second shot in the water.

The downpour proved to be a blessing in disguise for Sung, who was five shots off the pace after three bogeys and a birdie in the first round.

The rain that had been falling since the start of play turned into a torrential downpour, causing water to pool on the greens.

Play was suspended at 11.45am and resumed 30 minutes later.

However, when play was suspended again at 2:09 p.m. and the rain did not stop, the tournament organisers decided to end the tournament after the third round.

“I was in a very bad shape today, but I was so lucky that the heavens gave me a gift,” said Sung, who was in the clubhouse when she received the news of her victory, “I feel sorry for the other players.”

Sung has qualified for the final round of the Qualifying School (30 November-5 December), the gateway to the US Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour.

“I was tired from travelling back and forth to the US for the second round of qualifying, and this morning I had a nosebleed, so I started the fourth round after applying a haemostat,” said Sung.

“With this win, I realised again that golf is a game where you can’t give up just because you make a mistake, and I feel more confident,” added Sung, who is heading to the United States for the final tournament of the domestic tour season next week.

Lee Ye-won and Kim Jae-hee (11-under 205) tied for second place after the third round, while Hong Jung-min, Lim Hee-jung and Lee Seung-yeon (10-under 206) tied for fourth.

Lee accumulated 651 points, which included 42 Grand Prize points, to clinch the Grand Prize regardless of her performance in the one remaining event, ahead of Jinhee Lim (558 Grand Prize points).

Grand Prize points runner-up Jinhee Lim was unable to capitalise on the upset as she finished the tournament in a tie for 11th place (8-under par 208).

Grand Prize points are only awarded to the top 10 players in the final standings.

Kim, who led by three strokes at the halfway point of the fourth round, was looking for her first victory since making her regular tour debut in 2021, but was denied by heavy rain. 무료슬롯게임