‘Scion of the Boat People’ Lilia Boo Named LPGA Player of the Year

South Korea’s Hee Young Yang (34) swept the major titles on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour this season, winning the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship for her fifth career victory while Lilia Boo (USA-26) finished in a tie for fourth place.

Boo shaved seven strokes off her total to finish at 21-under-par for a share of fourth place in the tournament’s final round on Tuesday (Sept. 20) at the par-72 Tiburon GC Gold Course in Naples, Florida.

Boo, who made her LPGA Tour debut in 2019 and reported her first victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February, went on to win the Chevron Championship (April) and the AIG Women’s Open (August), and last week’s victory at the Annika Driven by Gainbridge, left her atop the world standings after four years on the tour.

She missed out on a win in the season finale, but a top-five finish secured her Player of the Year honors. He also took home $250,000 in prize money, bringing his season earnings to $3.523 million.

Boo has made a big deal out of his “boat people” background until recently. The story goes that his maternal grandfather built a boat and carried villagers out of communist Vietnam in 1982 and was miraculously rescued by a U.S. Navy warship just before it sank because it was overcapacity.

After reaching the top of the leaderboard at the first major of the season, Boo dedicated her victory to her maternal grandfather, saying, “I owe it all to him in heaven.”

Ataya Titiporn.

The Bear Trophy for the lowest grossing player went to Ataya Thittinjorn (Thailand-20), who finished the tournament in a tie for fifth place. 캡틴토토 도메인

Hae-ran Lee.

The Rookie of the Year honors went to Hae-ran. Hae-ran, 22, had already clinched Rookie of the Year honors at the Anika Driven earlier in the season, regardless of the outcome of the season finale.