"Father in Heaven, I Did It": Lee Sang-hee's Miracle First Win Comes 13 Years After Entering Japan

[Financial News] Lee Sang-hee kept a promise to his father in heaven by lifting his first trophy in Japan 13 years after making his debut on the tour.
Lee fired a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 with seven birdies in the final fourth round of the Sansan KBC Augusta on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), held on the 72-par Ito Golf Club in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, on the 30th.
With a final total of 23-under-par 265, Lee comfortably held off runner-up Hosono Yusaku of Japan, who finished at 20-under-par 268, by three strokes to top the leaderboard in style. The winner's prize was 20 million yen, or about 170 million won.
A veteran with four career victories on the Korea Professional Golf Association Tour (KPGA Tour), Lee has competed in both Korea and Japan since 2013. But a win in Japan had eluded him for years. This victory was his first on the Japan Tour in 13 years, and his first title in seven years since the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in 2017.
It was also a milestone for a Korean player to win a Japan Tour event held solely by the tour, not co-sanctioned by the KPGA Tour, for the first time in three years since Song Young-han won the same event in 2023.
Behind the long-awaited triumph were private pain and a firm resolve. Right after the win, Lee said, "I feel so happy to win for the first time in 13 years since my debut on the Japan Tour. I kept missing out at the final hurdle, but I feel like I have finally reaped the reward."
He added, "After my father passed away in 2023, I made a firm promise to show him a trophy someday. That made me obsessed with winning, and I sometimes became too focused on the result when I was in contention for the lead." He continued, "In this tournament, I followed my coach's advice to focus only on what I could control, and concentrating on the process rather than the result led to a good outcome."
After ending his long drought, Lee is now turning his attention back to the domestic stage. "My goal is to add more wins in Korea as well. I want to keep this momentum going and achieve more new victories," he said. "I will do my best to produce a strong result at the upcoming 42nd Shinhan Donghae Open."
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