‘Dad Golfer’ Ham Jeong-woo "I Have to Take a Winning Photo with My Daughter"

Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-joo Invitational 1R 5 Under Par
Married Kang Ye-rin in March Last Year, Gave Birth to Daughter in March This Year
"I Will Maintain the Lead Until the End and Compete for Victory"

"I want to take a photo holding the winner's trophy together with my daughter Soyul, who was born this March."

This is the heart of 'Dad Golfer' Ham Jeong-woo. On the 5th, at the Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 7,232 yards), he shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round of the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-ju Invitational (total prize money 1.25 billion KRW), topping the leaderboard. He collected six birdies and one bogey. In the front nine, he managed to reduce one stroke with two birdies and one bogey, but in the back nine, he made four birdies including three consecutive birdies at the end. He relied on stable tee shots that kept the fairway well.

Ham Jung-woo is teeing off at the 10th hole in the first round of the Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-ju Invitational.
[Photo by KPGA]

Ham Jeong-woo exclaimed, "I didn't expect to reduce five strokes. It feels like a birthday," adding with a laugh, "It's hard to play better than this on this course." He continued, "The rough was long and the weather was cold. Still, I was able to achieve this result by keeping the fairway well," and explained, "My short putts didn't go well, but my feel for long putts was good."

Ham Jeong-woo married Kang Ye-rin, born in 1994 and a fellow player on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, last March. They are a 'golf couple.' He expressed gratitude, saying, "Since my wife is also a player, she is busy. I really make a lot of considerations so that she can focus solely on golf."

Ham Jeong-woo has not won since his second career victory at the Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-ju Invitational in October 2021. He has also been criticized for lacking stamina. He said, "I know well that winning is not something I can control. Of course, it would be great to win," and smiled, "I want to win before this year ends. I envy Hur In-hoe, who won the iMBank Open, and Park Joo-young, who won the Daebo House D Open on the KLPGA Tour last week."

Ham Jeong-woo's strength is consistency. Although he has no wins this season, he ranks first in average score (70.28) and third in Genesis Points (3,861). He has advanced to the final round in all 17 tournaments he has entered this year and has finished in the top 10 seven times. His best result this season was third place at last month's LX Championship. Ham Jeong-woo said, "My goal for this tournament is to pass the cut first. I want to stay in the leading group until the final day and show a competitive performance."

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