Juhyung Kim vs Jihoon Lee 'Return Match'... What About Major Champ Junseok Lee?

Woosung Construction Challenges 2 Wins at Aramir CC Busan Gyeongnam Open, Lee Ji-hoon Defends Title, Lee Jun-seok Advances for 2 Consecutive Wins

Kim Juhyung challenges for his second win of the season at the Woosung General Construction Aramir CC Busan Gyeongnam Open.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "One win, two runner-ups, one third place, and one tied for sixth."

This year, the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) is truly dominated by the ‘19-year-old young gun’ Kim Joo-hyung (CJ Logistics). He has competed for the championship five times in seven tournaments. Currently, he leads all individual titles including the prize money ranking 1st (550 million KRW), the Order of Merit points 1st (3462 points), and the lowest average score 1st (69.78 strokes). The Woosung Construction Aramir CC Busan Gyeongnam Open (total prize money 500 million KRW), opening on the 8th at Aramir Golf Club in Changwon, Gyeongnam (par 71, 7206 yards), has also named him the ‘top favorite to win.’

Kim Joo-hyung is a next-generation prospect who made waves by winning the Asian (APGA) Tour Panasonic Open in November 2019 at just 17 years old. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic halting the APGA Tour, he competed on the Korean Tour and successfully made a smooth landing by finishing second in this tournament as a top-ranked player in the world rankings. At that time, he lost in a playoff against Lee Ji-hoon (35), which was a bittersweet moment. Remarkably, just a week later, he became the youngest champion at the KPGA Gunsan CC Open.

He even earned an invitation to the PGA Championship, a major on the U.S. Professional Golf (PGA) Tour. He immediately went to the U.S. and gained experience by playing six PGA Tour events, building his skills. This season, he plans to focus on the domestic stage and then challenge the PGA Korn Ferry (second-tier) Tour Qualifying Tournament (QT) again in the second half of the year. On the 13th of last month, he already demonstrated exceptional power with a ‘3-stroke victory’ at the SK Telecom Open. He is the first teenager in KPGA history to win twice.

This tournament is especially motivating as it serves as a rematch for last year’s defeat. Kim Joo-hyung said, "I have been consistently performing well, but there are still many areas to improve," and added, "I definitely want to win this year," showing his fighting spirit. For Lee Ji-hoon, this is a title defense. Since his win, he has only made the ‘top 10’ once in 17 tournaments, so escaping this slump is urgent. He expressed confidence, saying, "Maybe because my parents’ house is in Busan, I have always performed well in this region."

‘Korea Open Champ’ Lee Jun-seok advances toward a ‘2nd consecutive victory’ at Woosung General Construction Aramir CC Busan Gyeongnam Open.

Lee Jun-seok (Australia), the winner of the Kolon Korean Open on the 27th of last month, is a player to watch. With a jackpot of 400 million KRW, he can jump to second place in prize money (456 million KRW) and has an important opportunity to become ‘number 1.’ He said, "My shot feeling has been very good recently," and declared his intention to win ‘two consecutive tournaments.’ The champion group this season, including Moon Do-yeop (30, DB Insurance), Kim Dong-eun (24), Heo In-hoe (34), Moon Kyung-jun (39, NH Nonghyup Bank), and Lee Dong-min (36), have all gathered to compete for the ‘second win.’

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