Retirement ends in tears…Lee Bomi “13 years of happiness, I want to sleep well”
Lee Bomi, 35, is retiring from the Japan Ladies Professional Golf (JLPGA) Tour.
Ibomi concluded her JLPGA Tour career on Tuesday after the second round of the JLPGA Tour’s Nobuta Group Masters GC Ladies Championship (¥200 million purse) at Masters Golf Club (Par 72) in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
Ibomi, who has played on the JLPGA Tour since 2011, earned her first victory at the Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup in March 2012. She went on to win the 2015-16 money list and peaked as a star player.
She was in high demand. The Japanese media said, “She saved the JLPGA Tour at a time when there were no star players, and many fans followed her not only for her golf skills but also for her humanity. I don’t think there is another Korean player who is so popular in Japan.”
To commemorate her retirement, pink merchandise was sold at the clubhouse and gallery plaza during the tournament. About 7,000 hats, T-shirts, and mufflers were available, with more than half of the hats sold on the first day, and even an active player reportedly bought one.
Before the second round, her final match on the JLPGA Tour, her teammates, including Momoko Ueda, came dressed in her signature pink, and she was moved to tears by the fans’ support before the match. “Some fans were in tears on the 18th hole,” Japanese media outlet The Anchor reported.
After her second round on Tuesday, Ibomi said she was “really happy,” but added, “I realized about my swing problem around the 14th hole today. I thought I wanted to play tomorrow,” he said about golf.
“I played golf for 13 years in Japan. A little kid I knew is now in junior high school and learning to play golf. He was crying because he was sad to see me quit, so I got teary-eyed too. I saw a lot of fans holding up towels with ‘Thank you Ibomi’ written on them. I was able to concentrate until the end.”
When asked what she would like to do, she said, “It was hard to get up early in the morning. I want to get a good night’s sleep.” “Yesterday, I went to the special pavilion and saw the hole-in-one record, but it was the week my father passed away. My father died in the middle of that tournament, and I’m sure he would say that you did a great job. Thank you,” he added. 토스카지노 도메인