Choi Na-yeon wins Arkansas Championship with ‘magic’ of Iron 8

On the last day of the championship, Choi Na-yeon’s putting repeatedly missed the hole. She missed short 2-3 meter putting in succession and ended up losing the lead as well. However, Choi had a weapon that negated the need for putting. It was Iron 8, her favorite club.

Choi won the title at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship by displaying beautiful plays twice using her Iron 8.

The third, final round of the championship took place at Pinnacle Country Club (par 71, 6374 yards) at Rodgers, Arkansas in the U.S. on Monday. Choi, who was the lone lead by a two-par gap until Sunday, lost one par as she suffered setbacks in putting through Hole 13. She also saw her ranking drop to second place.

The mood instantly changed due to a shot eagle that she garnered at Hole 16 (par 4). She had tee-shot with Wood 1, and had 145 yards left to go to the pin. Choi took out her Iron 8 without hesitance. The ball that was heading to the pin bounced once, and made into the hole right away. She saved two pars momentarily, and emerged as the lead anew.

After the event, Choi said, “Whenever I am asked which club you like the most, I always answer Iron 8. When using Iron 8, I also send the ball 140 to 145 yards constantly since I was a ninth grader. I felt great at the moment of impact today as well. As gallery applauded, I thought to myself the ball fell near the pin, but checked to find the ball made all the way into the hole. I was so happy and I could hardly believe it.”

Choi was able to win the title because Hole 17 (par 3) was also 145 yards as well. Choi had her shot with Iron 8 once again, and had the ball fall right by the hold cup. Softly hitting the ball to score tap-in birdie, Choi became the lead with a two-par gap again, the same situation she faced when the third round started on the day. She said, “Coincidently, when I measured at Hole 17, I measured the same distance, and used the same club to play. Since I felt so great with the previous shot, I hit the ball the same way.”

She was able to play Hole 18 with par to score 15-under 198 overall, and won the title by beating over runner-up Mika Miyazato (13-under 200) of Japan by a two-par margin. It was Choi’s second win in this season after the Coats Championships, the opener of the season held in February, and her ninth career championship title. Choi said, “Actually, I did not play good putting, but was able to win the title due to Iron 8. I think this championship was like a miracle to me.”

Having added 300,000 US dollars to her prize money, she became the 10th in the LPGA history to surpass 10 million dollars in total prize money. She earned 10,236,907 dollars in total through Monday. It is the third largest amount earned by Korean golfers after Park Se-ri (12,563,660), and Park In-bee (11,373,484).

Choi said, “When I started this season, one of my goals was to surpass 10 million dollars in overall prize money. Irrespective of the amount, it is very meaningful that I have positioned my name along with the best players such as Park Se-ri and Park In-bee.” Saying that her remaining goal for this season is to win a major championship title, she will participate in the U.S. Open, a major tournament that will kick-off on July 9.