'Korean Tour Eagle King' Changwoo Lee "Looking Forward to 2021"... Who is the 'Birdie King'?

Cheers for the '85m Winning Shot Eagle' on the 4th Extra Hole of the Final Day at the Choi Kyung-Joo Invitational

Lee Chang-woo cheering after hitting the 'winning eagle' on the 4th playoff hole resumed at the 18th hole on the final day of the Choi Kyung-ju Invitational last September. Photo by KPGA

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] 'Eagle King.'

Last year, the player who made the most eagles on the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour was Lee Chang-woo (28, CJ Logistics). He made 6 eagles. The highlight was the September Choi Kyung-ju Invitational (total prize money 1 billion KRW). On the final day, after tying for the lead at 3-under 285 with Kim Tae-hoon (36) and Jeon Jae-han (31), he sealed the victory with an '85m winning eagle shot' on the resumed 4th hole of the playoff at the 18th hole (par 5), marking his second career win after 7 years.

Lee Chang-woo is a former national team player who has been recognized as a 'next-generation prospect' since his youth, including winning the Heo Jeong-gu Cup Korean Amateur Championship. As an amateur in 2013, he won the Dongbu Fire & Marine Insurance Pro-Am Open and also won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship that same year, earning a ticket to the 2014 PGA Tour major, the Masters. It is surprising that he had little presence after turning professional in 2014, with only two runner-up finishes in 2016.

In 2018, he lost his tour card and struggled on the second-tier tour in 2019, barely rejoining the main tour by finishing tied for 14th in the qualifying tournament. Last year, he participated in all 11 events, gaining momentum with one win and four top-10 finishes. He ranked 4th in prize money (289.4 million KRW) and 4th in points (2707), making 2021 a year full of expectations. Lee Chang-woo also expressed his ambition, saying, "I want to play in the Masters again someday as a professional."

The 'Birdie King' is Lee Jae-kyung (22, CJ O Shopping). He made an astonishing 154 birdies over 38 rounds, with an average birdie rate of 24.44%. It is worth noting that he is a special rookie who secured his first win early at the September 2019 Woosung Construction Aramir CC Busan Gyeongnam Open. Last year, he showed remarkable consistency with the lowest average score (69.40), but despite three runner-up finishes at the August KPGA Championship, the Hazzys Golf KPGA Open, and the October Genesis Championship, he ended up 3rd in prize money (362.42 million KRW) without a win.

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