KLPGA Title Race Upended: Kim Min-sol Surges to No. 1

Translation resultTwo weeks ago, Lee Ye-won held all three major KLPGA crowns — the money list, Player of the Year points and scoring average. After last week’s E1 Charity Open, however, the face of the money list changed: with Lee competing on the JLPGA in Japan, Kim Min-sol moved up to No. 1.The rankings could shift even more between this week and next. Lee is overseas on the JLPGA this week, and next week four of Korea’s top players will head to the U.S. Women’s Open on the LPGA Tour, meaning several leading names will miss domestic events.Current money list- 1st — Kim Min-sol (KRW 376,310,000 (approximately $282,233))- 2nd — Lee Ye-won (KRW 375,730,000 (approximately $281,798))- 3rd — Bang Shin-sil (KRW 363,110,000 (approximately $272,333))- 4th — Ko Ji-won (KRW 334,990,000 (approximately $251,243))- 5th — Yoo Hyun-jo (KRW 298,970,000 (approximately $224,228))- 6th — Jeon Ye-seong (KRW 295,570,000 (approximately $221,678))The margins are razor-thin. The Player of the Year standings are just as tight:- 1st — Lee Ye-won (158 points)- 2nd — Bang Shin-sil (153)- 3rd — Kim Min-sol (143)- 4th — Ko Ji-won (137)- 5th — Kim Si-hyun (127)- 6th — Lee Da-yeon (123)- 7th — Yoo Hyun-jo (113)The KLPGA players entered in next week’s U.S. Women’s Open are Kim Min-sol, Yoo Hyun-jo, Ko Ji-won and Hong Jeong-min. Those four won’t be in the field for the Celltrion Queens Masters. Of that group, only Yoo will play this week at the Sh Suhyup Bank MBN Women’s Open (May 29–31), a three-day event at The Starhue Golf Club in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province; Kim, Ko and Hong will skip domestic events for a second consecutive week.All eyes will be on whether Bang — currently second in points and third in earnings — can claim No. 1 in both categories over the next two weeks. Bang won the Doosan Match Play in mid-May but then missed the cut at the E1 Charity Open. It’s also possible Lee reclaims the top spot when she returns from Japan for the Celltrion Queens Masters.Scoring average — a stat that’s less tied to the number of events played — shows a slightly different order: Lee Ye-won leads with a 70.09 average, Lee Da-yeon is second at 70.41, Park Hyun-kyung third at 70.54; Kim Min-sol is sixth at 70.71, Ko Ji-won seventh at 70.96, Bang Shin-sil 10th at 71.14 and Yoo Hyun-jo 12th at 71.21.