Kim Tae-hoon "300 Million Jackpot"... "Jumping to 1st Place in Prize Money at Once~"

Genesis Championship Final Day 1 Over Par '2-Stroke Victory', Lee Jaekyung 2nd, Park Junwon 3rd

Kim Tae-hoon is cheering at the moment he secured victory on the final day of the Genesis Championship. Photo by KPGA

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Prize money of 300 million KRW, a Genesis GV80 car, and an entry ticket to The CJ Cup."

This is the incredible spoils of Kim Tae-hoon (35). On the 11th, at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Songdo, Incheon (par 72, 7,350 yards), the final day of the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour Genesis Championship (total prize money 1.5 billion KRW) concluded with Kim finishing at 1-over par, securing a 2-stroke victory (6-under par 282). This tournament boasts the largest prize money scale in Korea. With the '300 million KRW jackpot,' he instantly rose to the top of the prize money rankings (471.53 million KRW).

Kim Tae-hoon switched from ice hockey to golf during elementary school. He joined the tour in 2007 and has accumulated four wins, including the 2013 Bosung CC Classic in August, the 2015 Tour Championship in November, and the 2018 Dong-A Membership Group Busan Open in August. His sports family background is interesting. His uncle, Kim Jun-hwan, was a powerful hitter for the professional baseball team Haitai Tigers, and his father was also a soccer player. Moreover, his father served as his caddie during this tournament, collaborating for the victory.

Starting the day with a 4-stroke lead, Kim recorded 3 birdies and 4 bogeys. Notably, Lee Jae-kyung (21, CJ O Shopping) made consecutive birdies on holes 13 and 14, closing the gap to 1 stroke. Kim Tae-hoon exclaimed, "I struggled with putting early on, but on the 13th hole (par 3), my tee shot landed just 1 meter from the hole," and "The par save on the difficult 16th hole (par 4) is also memorable." On the final 18th hole (par 4), he safely secured par with a hybrid tee shot.

Kim Tae-hoon has decided not to participate in the PGA Tour's The CJ Cup held on the 15th at Shadow Creek Golf Course (par 72) in Las Vegas, Nevada. He explained, "I'm worried about my son who was born last year, and I want to focus on the Player of the Year award this year." Currently, he is second in the Player of the Year standings (2,871 points), following Kim Han-byul (24, 2,975 points). "The Player of the Year is a goal I dream of every year," he said, "and I will seize the opportunity when it comes."

Lee Jae-kyung finished second (4-under par 284), while Park Jun-won (34) posted a daily best of 4-under par to take third place (2-under par 286). Park Sang-hyun (37, Dong-A Pharmaceutical) and Park Sung-guk (32) tied for fifth place (1-under par 287). Following Kim Tae-hoon, Lee Chang-woo (27, Srixon), who is fourth in the Player of the Year standings, declined to participate in The CJ Cup, so Kim Han-byul, Lee Tae-hee (36, OK Savings Bank), and Ham Jung-woo (26, Hana Financial Group) will represent the Korean Tour on American soil.

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