'Asian Tour Money Leader' Kim Juhyung "This Time, Heading to Thailand"

Challenging for Victory at the Royal Cup, Home Course Players Jane Watananand and Kongwatmai as Dark Horses, Korea Joins with Kim Bi-o and Moon Do-yeop

'Asian Tour Money Leader' Kim Joo-hyung challenges for victory at the Royal's Cup.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] This time, it's a trip to Thailand.

‘Asian Tour Money Leader’ Kim Joo-hyung (20) will challenge for the championship at the Royal Cup (total prize money $400,000) held on the 24th (Korean time) at Kanchanaburi Grand Prix Golf Club (par 72, 7,215 yards) in Thailand. It is the second event of the 2022/2023 season, with a total of 156 players competing over four days in stroke play to determine the winner. Kim Joo-hyung was crowned the money leader of both the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour and the Asian Tour last season.

He proudly topped the money list in the combined Asian Tour 2020/2021/2022 seasons, which were merged into three seasons due to the impact of COVID-19. Kim is the fourth Korean player to become the money leader, following Kang Wook-soon (56), who topped the list twice in 1996 and 1998, and No Seung-yeol (31) in 2010. In eight appearances, including his victory at the Singapore International last month, he has entered the ‘Top 10’ six times, solidifying his position as ‘Asia’s Number 1.’

On the 3rd, at the opening event of the 2022/2023 season, the PIF Saudi International (total prize money $5 million), he also attracted the spotlight. This stage featured top-tier players such as Dustin Johnson, ‘The Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau, ‘Tokyo Olympics Gold Medalist’ Xander Schauffele, and ‘Oldest Major Champion’ Phil Mickelson (all from the United States), backed by Saudi Arabia’s massive capital and huge appearance fees. Kim Joo-hyung played alongside defending champion Johnson.

Jazz Jane Watananand aims to defend her home turf at the Royal's Cup.

He scored 5 under par on the first day and 3 under par on the final day but struggled against the strong sandy winds in Saudi Arabia, finishing tied for 45th place. He is firmly determined, saying, "I will show the power of the money leader in this tournament." Home course players Jazz Janewattananond and Phachara Khongwatmai, Sadom Kaewkanjana (all from Thailand), John Catlin (USA), and Scott Hend (Australia) are contenders for the title. From Korea, Kim Bi-o (32, Hoban Construction), Moon Do-yeop (31), and Seo Yo-seop (26, both DB Insurance) have joined the competition.

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