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| Photo provided = Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee |
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National title that we couldn't keep.
At the 67th Korean Open Golf Championship (hereinafter referred to as the Korean Open), where the national title is at stake, a Korean player could not laugh. Yoo Song-gyu, the last bastion, collapsed and the Korean Open title was passed on to the Thai player.
Yoo Song-gyu finished third under par in the fourth round in the final round of the Korean Open at Ravie Bell Country Club Dunskos in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do on the 25th. The honor of winning went to Thailand's Sadom Wakkanjana, who finished seven under par.
As soon as I woke up, I was given a large prize of 500 million won. In addition, the right to participate in the DeOpen, a major tournament that is more valuable than the prize money, has also. In addition, the five-year KPGA Tour seed and the two-year Asian Tour seed were also privileges that the winner could take. As a Thai player, he became the first Korean Open winner in six years since Jazz Jane and Tanand in 2019.
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| ◇Photo call Photo courtesy of Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee |
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This competition was co-hosted by the Korean Golf Association and the Asian Tour. From the beginning, Korea's strong players have left one after another. Due to the green construction of the Friendship Hills Country Club, which was originally the venue, the venue was moved to Rabiebel Dunscos this year, and the players struggled from the first round due to the very difficult course setting like a national title competition. Kim Min-kyu, who was most representatively considered last year's winner and one of the strong contenders, declared withdrawal after hitting 10 over par in the first round and losing another eight par in the first nine holes of the second round. Originally, the difficulty of the course is not that difficult, but for this competition, the width of the fairway was drastically reduced and the green was pressed hard to transform it into a scary course.
The player who kept Korea's pride is Yoo Song-gyu, who has endured a long period of unknown years since his debut in 2015. He became a hot topic by reducing his weight from nearly 140kg to nearly 100kg, and he showed excellent performance in this competition. Leading up to the second round.
In the third round, a triple bogey through the 16th hole allowed him to enter the final round at 4 under par, but he will be able to play in the final round champion's group with Thailand's sign Bboom Saksanshin and Sadom Awakenzana.
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| ◇Courtesy of Sadom Wake-up Jana Photo = Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee |
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The final round started with 7 under-par for Saksan Shin, 6 under-par for Awakenjana, and 4 under-par for Yoo Song-gyu. On top of that, Jo Jeon Ga-ram, Kang Yoon-seop, and Kim Ki-hwan also sought to turn the tables within their range. However, there was no dramatic situation, bullying the players to the difficult pin position in the final round. It was harder to find players playing under par.
After waking up, Jana watched the first hole, and Saksan-shin made a double bogey in the second hole, and the competition for the championship seemed to flow into the fog. It was a big chance for Yoo to catch up. However, it was regrettable that Yoo had a short second shot at the par-4 3rd hole and a short bogey until his third approach. On top of that, he had a great birdie opportunity by perfectly attaching a third shot on the par-5 sixth hole, but his short putt also helped save the Thai players in the same group. A birdie on the 7th hole came out, but it was silent afterwards.
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| ◇Courtesy of Bboom Saxony Photo = Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee |
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Saksan Shin had a shorter tee shot buggy than the two, but continued his stable play with the sophistication of protecting the fairway. As I woke up, I kept batting by repeating birdies and bogeys. The play was spectacular, but there were ups and downs. Saksan Shin has four wins on the Asian Tour and two wins on the awakening. While Yoo Song-gyu was unable to narrow down the number of strokes, the second half flowed into a leading competition between the two Thai players who kept 6 under par. Rather, amateur Kim Min-soo entered the race for the lead with five birdies without a bogey, but he had to cry with consecutive bogeys through the par-3 17th hole and the last par-4 18th hole. Instead, I was able to comfort myself with the best amateur award.
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| ◇Courtesy of Amateur Kim Min-soo = Korean Open Organizing Committee |
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The match of the championship group was cracked on the 14th hole. While Jana made a par save alone, Yoo Song-gyu and Sak San-shin played bogeys and widened the gap in the number of strokes. When I woke up on the par 315th hole, I couldn't put my tee shot on the green, but while I put a difficult approach on the hole cup, Yoo Song-gyu and Sak San-shin made another bogey, widening the gap. In particular, Yoo Song-gyu woke up and widened the gap by four strokes from me, effectively destroying his dream of winning. Yoo Song-gyu tried to make the final twist by taking an eagle chance with an aggressive second shot on the par-5 16th hole, but the two who used the three-on operation made a birdie first as if they had promised to do so, reducing Yoo Song-gyu's power. Yoo Song-gyu's eagle putt missed the hole and had to settle for a birdie. Still, thanks to this birdie and the last hole dramatic par save, he was able to finish in third place by one stroke. The highest ranking of Korean players. The third place winner will receive 75 million won in prize money.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
