A woman golfer smiling with fists raised and a white towel stretched over her head

Ma Seo-young Wins First Title in Her 83rd Start, Beating Seong Yu-jin in a Two-Hole Playoff

Published Oct 18, 2026

First time in the final group, first time in a playoff, and she won it. On the 18th at H1 Club in Icheon, Ma Seo-young beat Seong Yu-jin on the second extra hole of the KLPGA Iceberg Golf-Seoul Shinmun Open for her first title in 83 tour starts.

One shot ahead, wind and rain

Ma began the final round one stroke clear. A birdie at the 1st got her going, then back-to-back bogeys at the 2nd and 3rd.

A birdie at the 4th brought one back, but she dropped another at the 5th. The opening stretch wobbled in the wet.

Pars from the 6th to the 18th

From there she held on. Ma made nothing but pars from the 6th to the 18th and closed with a 73 (two birdies, three bogeys).

Seong birdied the 14th to go two ahead, then bogeyed the 15th and 16th. Both finished on 4-under 212.

Second playoff hole: 8.4 m and 5.2 m

The first playoff hole was halved with pars. The decider came on the same 18th (par 4).

Ma's second shot found the green, 8.4 m away, and she two-putted for par. Seong's second went over the green, her chip ran long and the 5.2 m par putt missed.

A player holding up an 'Iceberg Golf Seoul Shinmun Open' towel against a misty course

From seed worries to 2028

Before this week Ma sat around 50th on the money list, worried about keeping her card. The KRW 270 million first prize lifts her season earnings to about KRW 442 million and her ranking to 22nd.

She now has tour status through the 2028 season. She was sent down to the second-tier Dream Tour a year after her 2023 debut and came back through the qualifying school this year, which makes the turnaround bigger.