Lee Jaekyung and Bae Yongjoon advance to finals... "This year, I'm the Match King"

Lee Jaekyung Defeats Kang Kyungnam in Descente Match Play Semifinals
Bae Yongjoon Also Wins by 2 Holes Against Defending Champion Park Eunshin

This is Lee Jae-kyung's chance to become the 'Match King.'

On the morning of the 4th, Lee Jae-kyung crushed veteran Kang Kyung-nam by 5 holes in the semifinals of the 13th Descente Korea Match Play (total prize money 800 million KRW) held at Kingsdale Golf Club (par 72, 7,323 yards) in Chungju, Chungbuk. Lee will face Bae Yong-jun, who defeated defending champion Park Eun-shin by 2 holes in the other semifinal, in the final match later that afternoon.

Lee Jae-kyung is teeing off at the 2nd hole in the semifinals of the Descente Korea Match Play.
[Photo by KPGA]

This tournament, now in its 13th year, featured a total of 64 participants. Similar to the FIFA World Cup, players were divided into 16 groups for a group stage, with the top player from each group advancing to the round of 16. From the round of 16 onward, the format was one-on-one match play. The winner's prize money is 160 million KRW.

Lee Jae-kyung secured a 5-hole lead in the front nine by making birdies on holes 3-4, 6-7, and 9. After winning the 12th hole (par 4), he lost the 13th hole (par 3) but halved the 14th hole (par 4), sealing the match early. Lee debuted on the Korean Tour in 2019 and won the Rookie of the Year award after claiming victory at the Woosung Construction Aramir CC Busan-Gyeongnam Open in August. He won the lowest scoring average award in 2020 and earned his second career win at the Genesis Championship in October 2021. This year, he has been on an upward trend with four consecutive top-10 finishes.

Bae Yong-jun battled Park Eun-shin closely until the 17th hole (par 4), leading by just one hole, before securing a 2-hole victory with a birdie on the final 18th hole (par 5). Bae joined the Korean Tour in 2021 and claimed his first career win last July at the Honors K·Solago CC Han Jang-sang Invitational.

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