Yu Hae-ran, 25, missed the Vare Trophy two years ago by a single birdie. On the final day of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, Japan's Ayaka Furue made a late birdie that pushed Yu out of the top spot in scoring average by 0.01 strokes.
The Vare Trophy is awarded to the LPGA Tour player with the lowest scoring average and ranks alongside Player of the Year as the circuit's most prestigious honor. Two years later, Yu, now the leading figure among Korean players on the LPGA Tour, is chasing the trophy again. Her opportunity comes during the four-week Asian Swing that starts on the 15th and runs through Shanghai, China; Haenam, Korea; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Ibaraki, Japan.
According to the LPGA on the 12th, Yu, ranked third in the world, has a scoring average of 69.54, second on tour. She has played 57 rounds across 15 events this year, taking 3,964 strokes.
The current leader is world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States at 69.38, but Korda is not eligible for the award. The LPGA Tour requires at least 70 rounds over the season to qualify for the Vare Trophy. Korda has played only 53 rounds, excluding the team event Dow Championship, and is skipping all four Asian Swing tournaments. Even if she enters both remaining November events, she can add at most eight rounds, leaving her at 61. Including the Dow Championship, she would reach only 65. With four wins this season, including two majors, Korda holds a comfortable lead in Player of the Year points and appears more focused on rest and conditioning than on pushing for the Vare Trophy.
Yu, by contrast, is pursuing the award with determination. In a July interview with The Seoul Economic Daily, she said, "I really want to win the Vare Trophy this year after narrowly missing it two years ago," signaling her intent to claim the scoring title. She needs just 13 more rounds this season to become eligible. To that end, she plans to compete in the BMW Ladies Championship in Haenam and the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur during the Asian Swing.
Yu must still watch out for third-place Miyu Yamashita of Japan, a second-year player. Yamashita's scoring average of 69.64 trails Yu by 0.1 strokes, and she has already qualified with 74 rounds and 5,153 strokes across 20 events. Fourth-place Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, at 69.71, is also a threat. Thitikul won the Vare Trophy last year.
Both Yamashita and Thitikul will play the Buick LPGA Shanghai, held from the 15th to the 18th at Qizhong Garden Golf Club, an event Yu is skipping, as they bid to overtake her for the trophy. Korean players in the field include Hwang Yu-min, Choi Hye-jin, Kim A-lim, Lim Jin-hee, Kim Sei-young, Lee Mi-hyang, Yang Hee-young, Shin Ji-eun, Joo Su-bin, Ahn Na-rin and Kang Min-ji.
Yu, defending her position, and Yamashita, chasing her, share something in common. Both recently won in Korea, gaining momentum for the final stretch of the LPGA season. Yu captured the HiteJinro Championship, a major on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Tour, on the 4th, while Yamashita won the Aramco Korea Championship on the Ladies European Tour at New Korea Country Club in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the 11th.
Yu, enjoying a career-best season with both of her two LPGA victories coming at majors, hopes to cap it with the Vare Trophy. The last Korean winner of the award was Ko Jin-young in 2019.