Hong Jin-joo (홍진주) won the final KLPGA Champions Tour event of 2026 in Sejong, but Lee Jeong-eun3 (이정은3) finished first in the season's official money list. These are two distinct achievements: the tournament title is decided by strokes over two rounds, while the money title reflects earnings across the season.
A six-under winning total
The KBI Group–Gyeongbuk Construction Association Invitational was played on October 27–28, 2026, at Sejong Field Golf Club, a par-72 course. The 43-year-old Hong posted 67 and 71, totaling 138 strokes (six under par). She won by two strokes in the completed 36-hole stroke-play event.
Lim Eun-ah was runner-up at 140 (−4), Kim Bo-kyung finished third at 141 (−3), and Bae Kyung-eun fourth at 142 (−2). The tournament purse was 70 million Korean won, with 10.5 million won awarded to the winner. These are final results, not an in-progress leaderboard.
A different winner in the season standings
Hong recorded her second Champions Tour victory of 2026, having also won the season's second event. Across 13 appearances, she placed outside the top 10 only once, finishing second on the season money list with approximately 81.48 million won.
The money-list winner was 41-year-old Lee Jeong-eun3, who earned approximately 83.77 million won. Her season featured two victories, two runner-up finishes, two third-place finishes and ten top-10 finishes. Therefore, Hong won the finale; Lee won the season money title. They should not be described interchangeably as the season's tournament champion.
Why the distinction matters
The KLPGA Champions Tour is a separate circuit for senior professionals, not the main KLPGA Tour whose S-OIL Championship began on Jeju Island on October 29. Sixty players drawn from the upper reaches of the Champions Tour money standings contested the two-day season finale in Sejong.
Hong's triumph illustrates the value of consistency as well as winning when it matters: she added the closing title to a long sequence of strong finishes. Lee's money-list victory demonstrates how a season-long ranking can be secured by accumulating high placings across multiple events, even without winning the final tournament. The 2026 Champions Tour season is now complete, and no future results are implied.
Reporting: Seoul Economic Daily (October 29, 2026), drawing on KLPGA results and materials; organizer confirmation in Dailian (October 29). The archival image shows a Korean golf course, not the Sejong tournament.
