Isu-min's '2 Consecutive Wins' vs Kim Min-gyu's 'Rematch'... What About Defending Champion Lee Won-jun?

Clash at the KPGA Championship, a Korean Tour Major Opening on the 6th: Moon Kyung-jun, Park Sang-hyun, and Choi Jin-ho Compete for Victory

Lee Soo-min challenges for '2 consecutive wins' at the KPGA Championship. Photo by KPGA

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Hunting two rabbits."

It's the '2 consecutive wins march' of Lee Soo-min (27), the 'KPGA Open Champion.' This is at the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Major KPGA Championship (total prize money 1 billion KRW) opening on the 6th at A-One Golf Course in Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam (Par 70, 6,950 yards). Currently ranked first in the points race (1,207 points) and with a winner's prize of 180 million KRW, he can also claim the top spot in the prize money rankings. Saying, "This is my last season before military enlistment," he confidently declared, "I aim to win both the Order of Merit and the prize money title simultaneously."

Lee Soo-min is the player who won the Gunsan CC Open as an amateur in 2013. Right after turning professional in 2015, he again topped the Gunsan CC Open, setting a new milestone as the 'only player to win the same tournament as both an amateur and a professional.' After winning the 2016 European Tour's Shenzhen International, he played in the 'big leagues' before returning to Korea in 2018, where he immediately rose to prominence by winning the Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-ju Invitational last October.

This year, he secured his first victory at the KPGA Open on the 19th. It is welcome news that Kim Joo-hyung (18, CJ Logistics), currently first in prize money, has left for the U.S. to participate in the PGA Tour's PGA Championship. This presents a great opportunity to overturn the 47.5 million KRW gap in one go. Lee Soo-min also expressed confidence, saying, "Having secured my first win early, I have gained psychological ease," and added, "I am focusing on my short game recently to maintain this good momentum."

Kim Min-gyu is set to 'break the streak of two consecutive runner-up finishes' at the KPGA Championship. Photo by KPGA

Kim Min-gyu (19, CJ Logistics) is a player to watch. At 16 in 2017, he drew attention by winning twice on the European EuroPro (third-tier) Tour, and in 2018, he advanced to the European Challenge (second-tier) Tour, becoming the youngest winner (17 years and 64 days) at the Czech Challenge, marking him as a promising next-generation talent. After returning home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he caused a stir by finishing runner-up consecutively at the Gunsan CC Open and the KPGA Open.

At the KPGA Open, he especially agonized over missing a 2-meter eagle putt on the 17th hole (par 5) in the final 4th round. Above all, he desires the 5-year tour card since he does not yet have a Korean Tour card. He qualified through preliminaries for the Gunsan CC Open and earned 'top 5 tickets' for the KPGA Open and this tournament. Kim Min-gyu said, "I regret not winning when the time came," and added, "I am practicing 12 hours a day," showing his fighting spirit.

Defending champion Lee Won-jun (Australia) has a dual dream of defending his title. He recalls the thrilling memory of completing a 'wire-to-wire' victory last year after an extended playoff against Seo Hyung-seok (23). Lee Ji-hoon730 (34), winner of the season opener Woosung Construction Aramir CC Busan Gyeongnam Open, is challenging for his second win, while Moon Kyung-jun (37), Park Sang-hyun (37, Dong-A Pharmaceutical), and Choi Jin-ho (36, Hyundai Steel) are competing for the championship. 'The angler swing' Choi Ho-sung (47) remains a popular attraction.

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