From keeping her tour card to chasing another trophy
South Korean professional Ma Seo-young (마서영) arrives at this week's S-OIL Championship with a very different outlook on the closing stages of the 2026 KLPGA season. Before her breakthrough at the Iceberg Golf · Seoul Shinmun Open, keeping full tour eligibility was a serious concern. Her first title has changed the stakes.
On October 18, at H1 Club in Icheon, Ma posted rounds of 68, 71 and 73 for 212 strokes, four under par, tying Sung Yu-jin at the end of regulation. Both players made par at the first extra hole. At the second, Ma safely two-putted for par while Sung failed to save par after missing the green, handing Ma victory. It was her first win in 83 KLPGA Tour starts.
A prize worth more than the winner's cheque
The result earned Ma 270 million Korean won and, importantly, secured her KLPGA playing rights through the 2028 season. She had entered the event dangerously close to the cut-off on the season money list for retaining a full card. That immediate pressure has eased.
Ma's breakthrough was not simply a display of effortless scoring. She lost one stroke in the final round amid difficult wind and rain, then held her nerve in a playoff decided by pars and bogeys rather than a run of birdies. Her post-victory comments also underlined the persistence behind the result: she had questioned whether she possessed the talent to win but kept working.
What awaits her in Jeju
The 20th S-OIL Championship runs October 29–November 1 at Elysian Jeju, using its Lake and Pine courses. KLPGA lists 96 entrants and a one-billion-won total purse. Ko Ji-won is the defending champion.
Ma is not the favourite simply because she won her previous KLPGA start. This is another event, with a different course, a four-round format and a strong field. Yet it marks an important shift in her career: having played to protect a tour card, she can now play to add to her trophy collection.
The October 18 result and playoff details are recorded by KLPGA and contemporary Korean reports; the dates, venue, field size and purse for Jeju are confirmed by the official KLPGA schedule. Wide Sports highlighted Ma's next challenge on October 27.
