Joo Soo-bin blows 4-shot lead in bid for maiden LPGA win
Joo Soo-bin of Korea plays her shot from the second tee during the final round of the ShopRite LPGA powered by Wakefern 2026 at Seaview Bay Course in Galloway, New Jersey, May 31. AFP-Yonhap
Joo Soo-bin has blown a big final-round lead in her pursuit of her maiden LPGA title, settling for her first top-five finish instead.
Joo ended in a four-way tie for fourth place at the ShopRite LPGA at Seaview Hotel & Golf Club's Bay Course in Galloway, New Jersey, on Sunday (local time) after carding a two-over 73 for a three-round total of six-under 207.
Joo finished three shots back of the champion, Celine Boutier of France, who shot a five-under 66 to win this tournament for the second time.
Joo, who joined the LPGA Tour in 2023, entered the final round of this 54-hole event holding a four-stroke lead over five players, including Boutier.
The 22-year-old Korean began her title chase with a birdie on the first hole, but bogeys at the fourth and the eighth left the doors open for other contenders.
Joo birdied the ninth to make the turn at eight-under overall, while Boutier, playing two groups ahead, made three straight birdies starting at the eighth to also reach eight-under.
Boutier moved ahead of Joo at nine-under with a birdie on the 14th, and then the wheels came off for Joo down the stretch.
Joo made a fatal double bogey on the 14th to drop to six-under, and a bogey two holes later pushed her further out of contention at five-under.
With Boutier already in the clubhouse at nine-under, Joo's birdie at the 17th wasn't nearly enough.
Joo only had two career top-10 finishes before this tournament, including a tie for sixth at the 2023 ShopRite LPGA.
She had made only two bogeys in the first two rounds, the fewest in the field, but made three in the final round, along with a double bogey and three birdies.
Another Korean, Lee So-mi, finished at six-under after posting her third consecutive round of 69. Jeon Ji-won finished alone in eighth place at five-under.