‘Mumyeong’ Baek Seok-hyun "48 Attempts, 49th Time's the Charm"... ‘Wire to Wire’

SK Telecom Open FR 2-Under Par 1-Shot Victory
4-Year Regular Tour Card and 260 Million KRW Prize
Lee Tae-hoon 2nd, Kim Bi-o 3rd, Choi Kyung-ju 19th

It is the “48 attempts and 49th success” of the “unknown” Baek Seok-hyun.

On the 21st, Baek Seok-hyun shot 2-under par in the 4th round of the KPGA Korean Tour SK Telecom Open (total prize money 1.3 billion KRW) held at Pinx Golf Club (par 71, 7,326 yards) in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, securing a one-stroke victory (13-under par 271). He achieved his first win after 49 tournaments since debuting on the Korean Tour in 2014. Maintaining the top spot on the leaderboard throughout the four days with a wire-to-wire victory, he earned a 4-year regular tour card along with prize money of 260 million KRW.

Baek Seok-hyun (right) is cheering after successfully making an eagle putt on the 4th hole of the 4th round at the SK Telecom Open.
[Photo by KPGA]

Baek Seok-hyun started tied for the lead by one stroke, recording one eagle, three birdies, and three bogeys. After energizing himself with an eagle on the 4th hole (par 5) and a birdie on the 5th hole (par 3), he seemed to break away from his competitors’ pursuit with “stepping stone birdies” on the 10th and 12th holes. However, his shots suddenly faltered, resulting in bogeys on the 14th and 17th holes. On the final 18th hole, he faced a crisis when his tee shot landed in the water, but fortunately, he managed to save par and held onto the top position.

Lee Tae-hoon (Canada) added 2-under par to finish second (12-under par 272). Defending champion Kim Bi-o surged with a 5-under par round to leap into a tie for third place (10-under par 274). Lee Tae-hee and amateur Song Min-hyuk also joined this group. Choi Ho-sung, known for his “fisherman’s swing” and co-leader the previous day, lost 4 strokes and dropped to a tie for 11th place (7-under par 277). “Tank” Choi Kyung-ju finished the tournament tied for 19th place (5-under par 279). Park Sang-hyun ended tied for 42nd place (1-under par 283).

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