13-year-old An Seong-hyeon and 48-year-old Hwang In-chun "Tied for 2nd Place"... '1 Stroke Behind the Leader'

Amateur An Seong-hyun and Veteran Hwang In-chun Start Fresh with 4-Under Par
Choi Jin-ho Leads at 5-Under Par, Kim Bi-o Tied 10th, Seo Yo-seop Tied 105th

[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] Amateur golf prospect An Seong-hyeon (13) and veteran Hwang In-chun (48) tied for second place in the first round of the KPGA Korean Tour Bizplay Electronic Times Open (total prize money 700 million KRW).

Hwang In-chun (left) and Ahn Sung-hyun are teeing off in the first round of the Bizplay Electronic Newspaper Open. Photo by KPGA

Both players recorded five birdies and one bogey in the first round held on the 16th at Jeju Blackstone Golf & Resort (par 72, 7,385 yards). Jo Min-kyu (34), Go Gun-taek (23), and Moon Do-yeop (31) also joined the group tied for second place.

They are one stroke behind the leader Choi Jin-ho (38), who shot 5-under-par 67. The tournament was originally scheduled as a 72-hole, four-round event starting on the 15th, but due to strong winds, the previous day's round was canceled, reducing the event to a 54-hole, three-round competition.

Hwang In-chun is aiming for his fifth career win, his first in five years since the 2017 Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-ju Invitational. This year, he finished as runner-up at the Gunsan CC Open in August. Born in May 2009, An Seong-hyeon will become the youngest player ever to advance to the Korean Tour main event at 13 years and 4 months old if he passes the qualifiers in this tournament. The current record is held by Kang Sung-hoon (35), who qualified at 14 years and 24 days old during the 2001 Yuseong Open.

Kim Bi-o (32) and Seo Yo-seop (26), who are competing for three wins this season, are tied for 10th place (2-under-par 70) and tied for 105th place (5-over-par 77), respectively. Kim Bi-o’s younger brother Kim Daniel (18) is also tied for 105th place, resulting in mixed fortunes for the siblings.

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