'No.1 Seed' Seo Yoseop "Fresh Start in Match Play"

Descente Korea Match Play Round 1: Kang Min-seok Dominates
Lee Jae-kyung, Ham Jeong-woo, Park Sang-hyun, Park Eun-shin Secure 1 Win Each
Kim Bi-o, Baek Seok-hyun, Lee Jun-seok, Kang Kyung-nam Suffer 1 Loss Each

Top seed Seo Yoseop gets off to a fresh start.

Seo Yoseop crushed Kang Minseok by 7 holes in the first match of the group stage at the 13th Descente Korea Match Play (total prize money 800 million KRW, winner's prize 160 million KRW) held on the 1st at Kingsdale Golf Club in Chungju, Chungbuk (par 72, 7,323 yards) on the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Korean Tour. After taking holes 1, 4, 6, and 8 in the front nine, he also won holes 10-11 and 13 in the back nine to finish the match early. His second match opponent is Lee Seungchan.

Seo Yoseop is teeing off on the 1st hole of the first match in the group stage of the Descente Korea Match Play.
[Photo by KPGA]

Seo Yoseop, who debuted on the Korean Tour in 2016, is a strong player with a total of five wins. In the 2019 final of this tournament, he lost to the "Match King" Lee Hyeongjun but fought a close battle that went to three sudden-death playoffs. Seo Yoseop is aiming to break the curse of the top seed never winning the title. The best result by a number one seed player was 5th place by Kim Taehun in 2021. Seo said, "My condition is very good. Especially my putting was excellent," adding, "My first goal is to advance from the group stage. If I reach the round of 16, I will definitely aim for the championship."

The tournament features 64 players competing for the title. Like the FIFA World Cup, the players are divided into 16 groups for the group stage, and the top player from each group advances to the round of 16. A win earns 2 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss 0 points. If there is a tie for first place in a group, a sudden-death playoff is held. From the round of 16 onward, it is a one-on-one match play format.

Lee Jaekyung, who is in the same group as Seo Yoseop, also defeated Lee Seungchan by 5 holes. He will face Kang Minseok in the second match. Lee said, "My fade shots are stable, and my short game is also good, so I think I am performing well," adding, "Tomorrow's third match opponent is Seo Yoseop. I don't think he is an unbeatable wall."

Defending champion Park Eunshin, along with Park Sanghyun, Ham Jeongwoo, Hwang Junggon, Ok Taehun, Jang Heemin, and Shin Sanghoon, also comfortably secured their first wins. On the other hand, Kim Bio, Baek Seokhyun, Choi Jinho, Lee Junseok (Australia), Kang Kyungnam, and Heo Inhoe suffered their first losses. Lee Hyeongjun, who has two wins in this tournament, drew with Park Younggyu.

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