"132 Attempts, 133rd Success" Yang Jiho's Life Turnaround "Ended 15 Years of No Titles"... Park Sungguk '2 Strokes Behind, 2nd Place' (Summary)

KB Financial Liiv Championship 2-Stroke Victory with 140 Million Won Jackpot, 'Match King' Park Eun-shin 3rd, Defending Champ Moon Kyung-jun Tied 35th

Yang Ji-ho is taking a commemorative photo holding the trophy with his wife Kim Yoo-jung, who served as his caddie, immediately after winning the KB Financial Live Championship. Photo by KPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘132 attempts, 133rd success’.

It was a thrilling ‘comeback show’ by the ‘unknown’ Yang Ji-ho (33). On the 29th, at the Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 7,260 yards), the final 4th round of the KPGA Korean Tour KB Financial Live Championship (total prize money 700 million KRW) concluded with Yang shooting 6-under par to secure a 2-stroke victory (7-under par 281). Making his debut on the regular tour in 2008, he earned his first career win after a long 15 years and received prize money of 140 million KRW.

Starting from a tie for 4th place, 2 strokes behind, Yang Ji-ho collected 1 eagle and 5 birdies (with 1 bogey). His concentration was remarkable as he reduced 4 strokes in the first 6 holes, including birdies on the 4th hole (par 4), an eagle on the 5th hole (par 5), and another birdie on the 6th hole (par 4). In the back nine, he shook off challengers with three consecutive birdies from holes 11 to 13. The bogey on the 15th hole (par 5) did not affect his victory. His wife, Kim Yoo-jung, served as his caddie, adding special meaning to the win.

Yang Ji-ho is a player who was part of the national representative reserve team in 2005. He competed simultaneously on the Korean Tour and Asian Tour in 2010 and won the Nobiru Cup on the Japan Challenge (2nd tier) Tour in 2012. In 2015, he enlisted in the military sports unit temporarily established for the Mungyeong World Military Games and played on the Korean Tour and Challenge (2nd tier) Tour. This year, he finished tied for 12th at last month’s season opener, the DB Insurance Promy Open, and performed well with a 4th place finish at the ‘big match’ GS Caltex Maekyung Open on the 8th.

"I still can’t believe it," said Yang Ji-ho. "I gained courage after seeing my tour debut peer Park Eun-shin (32, Hana Financial Group) win last week. I thought it would take about 200 tournaments to win, but I did it sooner than expected," he cheered. He added, "I hesitated whether to go for 2-on at the 18th hole (par 5), but my wife said, ‘Oppa, let’s play it safe,’ so I listened to her," smiling brightly. Kim, who supported her husband’s victory, wiped away tears saying, "Oppa, you worked hard."

Park Sung-guk is teeing off on the 2nd hole on the final day of the KB Financial Live Championship. Photo by KPGA

Park Sung-guk (34, KM Pharmaceutical), who was the leader the previous day, added 2-under par but remained in 2nd place (5-under par 283). ‘Match King’ Park Eun-shin’s attempt for back-to-back wins ended in 3rd place (3-under par 285). Seo Yo-seop (26, DB Insurance), Ko Gun-taek (23, Daebo Construction), Jeon Sang-hyun (19, Webcash Group), and Hwang Jae-min (36) tied for 4th place (1-under par 287). Defending champion Moon Kyung-jun (40, NH Nonghyup Bank) finished tied for 35th place (8-over par 296).

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