'19-year-old Young Gun' Kim Mingyu "Starts with 6-under"… Jeon Jaehan Leads with 8-under

Shinhan Donghae Open Day 1: Tied 4th, '2019 Grand Prize' Moon Kyung-jun and PGA Tour Member Noh Seung-yeol Tied 2nd, 1 Stroke Behind in Victory Race

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] '19-year-old young gun' Kim Min-gyu (CJ Logistics) is once again challenging for a Korean Tour victory.

On the first day of the KPGA Shinhan Donghae Open (total prize money 1.4 billion KRW) held on the 10th at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon (par 71, 7,238 yards), he posted 6-under par to tie for 4th place. Jeon Jae-han (30) took a surprise lead with a course record-tying 8-under par. 2019 Order of Merit winner Moon Kyung-jun (37) and PGA Tour member Noh Seung-yul (29) are tied for 2nd place, one stroke behind at 7-under par 64, while Hong Jun-ho (38) joined the tie for 4th.

Kim Min-gyu is a next-generation prospect who swept two wins on the European EuroPro (3rd tier) Tour in 2017 at the young age of just 16. In 2018, he immediately moved up to the Challenge (2nd tier) Tour and set the record as the youngest winner (17 years and 64 days) at the Czech Challenge. This year, due to the impact of COVID-19, he returned to Korea and drew even more spotlight by finishing runner-up in two consecutive weeks at the KPGA Gunsan CC Open on July 12 and the KPGA Open on July 19.

Afterwards, he was cut consecutively at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open and the Hazzys Golf KPGA Open, which was frustrating. However, on this day, he found his winning shot rhythm by combining eight birdies and two bogeys. He started strong with back-to-back birdies on holes 10 and 11, exchanged two birdies and two bogeys, then regained momentum with three consecutive birdies from hole 18 to the 2nd hole on the back nine. On the final 9th hole (par 4), he showcased a 'needle-like iron shot' by placing his second shot just 1 meter from the hole.

For Kim Min-gyu, the winner's prize money of a whopping 252 million KRW in this tournament is welcome news. It is even more than the current season earnings of 200 million KRW held by 'money list leader' Kim Sung-hyun (22). Anyone can rise to the top of the money list. Noh Seung-yul is aiming for his first domestic win. It is interesting that the 2014 Zurich Classic champion on the PGA Tour still has no Korean Tour victories. 'Order of Merit leader' Kim Han-byul (22) is tied for 21st at 2-under par, while Kim Sung-hyun remains tied for 84th at 1-over par.

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