‘Monday Qualifier Participation’ Lee Chang-gi "Did You See My 11-Under 61?"

KPGA Gunsan CC Open 1R Surge
1 Eagle, 9 Birdies Without Bogey, Excitement
QT Tied 51st... Living as a Seed Waitlist Player

Lee Chang-gi, a Korean New Zealander, is currently a standby player.

Last year, he challenged the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Korean Tour Qualifying Tournament (QT) but finished tied for 51st place. Lee Chang-gi immigrated to New Zealand at the age of 9 and made his professional debut through the Australian Tour. He travels back and forth between Korea and Australia. He also occasionally participates in the KPGA Srixon (2nd division) Tour and tries to enter Korean Tour events through Monday qualifiers. Last month, he qualified through the Monday qualifier to compete in the Honors K·Solago CC Han Jang-sang Invitational, finishing tied for 22nd place.

Lee Chang-gi is teeing off at the 11th hole during the first round of the KPGA Gunsan CC Open.
[Photo by KPGA]

Lee Chang-gi made a splash. On the 24th, at the KPGA Gunsan CC Open (total prize money 500 million KRW) held at the Gunsan CC Tournament Course (par 72, 7,442 yards) in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, he set a course record with an 11-under-par 61 in the first round. He recorded one eagle and nine birdies without any bogeys. He also entered this tournament by passing the Monday qualifier. After a fresh start with consecutive birdies on holes 2 and 3 and a birdie on hole 6 (par 4), he created momentum with four consecutive birdies from holes 9 to 12. Then, on hole 16 (par 5), he made an eagle with '2-on 2-putt' and followed it up with consecutive birdies on holes 17 and 18.

Lee Chang-gi said, "I think this is the kind of day when everything goes well. Both my shots and putts were good, and even when mistakes happened, they kept turning into opportunities. My caddie told me I was 7-under on hole 12, but I tried not to focus on the score. I didn’t even realize I had set a course record," he exclaimed. He added, "My goal is to maintain a top-tier performance to earn many re-ranking points and be able to play more tournaments in the second half of the year. I will stay calm and play without getting nervous."

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