Lee Jeong-eun had a “6” added to her surname on the Korean LPGA tour to differentiate her from the five others that joined the circuit before her.
After Sunday’s victory at the US Women’s Open in Charleston, “Lee6” has certainly made a name for herself.
“I’m the sixth Lee Jeong-eun player and that’s why they put it down as Lee6 Jeong-eun, but this is my lucky number too, so I would love to put it down as Lee6 as my last name,” the 23-year-old South Korean said via an interpreter after winning the most prestigious title in women’s golf in South Carolina.
Photo: AFP
Lee, dubbed “Hot Six” by her legion of fans back home, is among a generation of South Korean golfers inspired by trailblazer Pak Se-ri’s win at the 1998 US Women’s Open.
The ninth South Korean to win the championship, South Koreans have won it 10 times in all, with Park In-bee claiming the championship twice.
Lee turned professional in 2016 and quickly handled the pressure of providing for her family, claiming Rookie of the Year honors on the Korean LPGA, even as she started to sour on the vibe of the tour.
“Looking at my family situation back then, I thought about wanting to play golf because I wanted to support my family no matter what,” she said.
Switching to the US-based LPGA Tour this year after winning the qualifying school at the end of last year, Lee found her feet quickly and arrived at the Women’s Open ranked 14th in the world.
“When I was in KLPGA, I actually wanted to stop playing because I wasn’t really enjoying too much about it,” she said. “A lot of players are very competitive, severely competitive, so I didn’t really enjoy it that much, but when I came to the LPGA Tour, I started wanting to play more for a long time. I have a good time playing with a lot of LPGA players.”
Lee has no big plans to spend her US$1 million after collecting the first seven-figure prize in women’s golf.
“I can eat ramen,” she said to laughter. “That was my goal. If I finish the top five, I can buy shoes, but I can buy shoes and eat ramen. So it’s a double.”
Hsu Wei-ling finished on five-over tied for 39th place, while fellow Taiwanese Chien Pei-yun was a shot further tied for 50th spot.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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