By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Song Bo-bae was named the rookie of the year on the Japan LPGA (JLPGA) Tour Wednesday.
The 23-year-old made 72.92 million yen in Japan this season to rank seventh in the Tour's money list.
The best rookie award is presented to the highest earner among first-year pros.
Song, a Jeju native who began her JLPGA career in 2007, was not eligible for the title in the past two seasons because she was not a full-time member.
Song is the fifth South Korean golfer to become the rookie of the year, following Ko Woo-soon in 1994, Han Hee-won in 1998, Lee Ji-hee in 2001 and Jeon Mi-jeong in 2006.
She won the Japan Women's Open in October and the Mizuno Classic, a U.S. LPGA Tour event, in November.
In addition, Song, a two-time Korea LPGA (KLPGA) player of the year in 2004 and 2005, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the Kyoraku Cup, which pits the best 13 female golfers from Korea and Japan against each other.
She collected five victories from 2004 to 2006 on the KLPGA Tour.
Meanwhile, the KLPGA announced that a total of 20 Korean players would compete on the JLPGA Tour next year.
The group includes LPGA golfers, such as Shin Ji-yai, Park In-bee, and Lee Seon-hwa.