Korea shows class to win 23rd Queen Sirikit Cup

Caption: Korean golfers from left Hyosong Lee, Shihyun Kim and Soomin Oh celebrate their win in the Queen Sirikit Cup held in Christchurch NZ last month. Photo credit: Golf New Zealand.

Korea shows class to win 23rd Queen Sirikit Cup

Korea’s golfing pedigree was on full display during the final round of the 44th Queen Sirikit Cup in at Clearwater Golf Club in Christchurch NZ last month, capturing it's 23rd title in dominant fashion.

Soomin Oh, Hyosong Lee and Shihyun Kim combined for an incredible 11 under par on the last day to seal an impressive victory, finishing nine under for the championship, seven shots ahead of Japan, which played amazing golf to steal second place from Australia, with the hosts New Zealand finishing fourth.

Christchurch put on a stunner for the final day’s play, which the players took full advantage of. Seventeen of the 36-strong field shot even par or better, highlighting the change in conditions from the first three days, where even par rounds or better were unusually scarce for a field of this calibre.

Oh, the 23rd-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, shot a scintillating seven under 65 to win the individual honours, combining with Shihyun Kim, who carded a four under 68. 

Despite winning the individual trophy, the highest-ranked player in the field said it was more important to win as a team.

“I played really well alongside my teammates, and we worked really well as a team, which is why we were able to produce a great result,’’ Oh said.

“We were encouraging each other, and we all believed that we could win. We tried really hard to enjoy the game today and not put pressure on ourselves. We trusted each other a lot.”

The victory was Korea’s 14th title in the past 16 years, an accomplishment the Korean team captain Seehoon Chang was extremely proud of and highlighted the depth Korea has in the golfing landscape.

Said Chang: “I’ve been captain for more than 10 years now, and our team has managed to win about half of these events. I have a lot of confidence in these girls – this is their second time in the national team and they’ve been very good. I had a lot of confidence in them.

“Women’s golf in Korea is really strong. The other countries that are here are really great and it’s awesome that Korea keep producing great golfers to compete against the best players in the world. Lots of the girls have turned professional, but they all seem to meet at the LPGA events. That’s one of the reasons our girls practise hard so they’re able to compete with the best in the world.”

The Japanese team combined well to finish their tournament strongly, finishing two under par after shooting eight under on the final day.

Japan will look to stop the Korean juggernaut at home in 2025.