[2020 New Start⑭] '3rd Year on Tour' Ok Tae-hoon "I Made a Caricature"

Equipped with a 'Piercing Iron Shot' and Powerful Long Drives, Completing Vietnam Training Camp "Winning Pledge is Donation"

Ok Tae-hoon, in his third year on the Korean Tour, is eagerly anticipating the start of the tour, having fully embraced his character.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "To communicate with fans."

Ok Tae-hoon (22, PNS Holdings), in his third year on the tour, created a 'caricature' of himself ahead of the 2020 Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Korean Tour season. It is interesting that the caricature was created by Park In-kwon (66), the cartoonist of the popular comic "War of Money," who is known as an enthusiastic fan. "I thought it would be meaningful to give fans golf balls with the caricature on them," he said, expressing gratitude to the cartoonist for drawing the cute picture.

Ok Tae-hoon liked running when he was in elementary school. Although he was even scouted by his physical education teacher for the track team, he took up golf in the fifth grade at his mother's suggestion. He quickly began collecting trophies on the junior circuit, showing exceptional skill. He built his foundation through the national team reserve squad from 2013 to 2014. In 2015, he won the KPGA President's Cup and received the KPGA Amateur Award, and in 2016, he raised expectations further by winning the 8th event of the Frontier (3rd division) Tour.

In 2017, he secured his Korean Tour card for 2018 by winning the 4th event of the Challenge (2nd division) Tour. However, in 2018, he missed the cut 11 times out of 14 tournaments, experiencing the harsh realities of the professional stage. "I was eager to do well, but my results did not follow, which made me anxious," he recalled. "Watching top players wisely overcome crises made me realize the importance of recovery ability."

This is why Ok Tae-hoon focused more on his short game. Fortunately, he retained his tour card through the Qualifying Tournament (QT), and last year, he made the cut 8 times in 12 tournaments, finishing 45th in the Genesis Points Ranking and 64th in the prize money ranking, achieving a smooth landing. Although his stature is not large at 177 cm and 68 kg, attention should be paid to his average driving distance of 297.57 yards (17th) and his 'piercing iron shots' with a greens-in-regulation rate of 71.91%.

It is encouraging that during a two-month training camp in Vietnam starting last January, he thoroughly honed his putting and other short game skills. Ok Tae-hoon is currently fine-tuning his shot feel through practice rounds while waiting for the Korean Tour season to start, which was postponed due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). "I definitely want to win this year," he said, adding a pledge to donate part of his prize money to junior players.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.