Park Sanghyun Achieves Second Win in His 40s After 20 Years... Ok Taehoon Secures Four Crowns

KPGA Tour Championship Victory in Season Finale
Second Win of the Season, 14 Career Titles, Nearing 6 Billion Won in Total Earnings
Lee Taehui Runner-Up, Hwang Doyeon Third, Lee Hyungjun Scores Hole-in-One
Ok Taehoon Sweeps Genesis Grand Pr

Forty-two-year-old veteran Park Sanghyun has achieved his second win in his 40s after 20 years.

On November 9, at Teddy Valley Golf & Resort (par 72, 7,259 yards) in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, during the final round of the KPGA Tour Championship-the last event of the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Tour season with a total prize fund of 1.1 billion won-Park recorded five birdies and four bogeys for a 1-under-par 71. With a final total of 11-under-par 277, Park clinched the title by a one-stroke margin over Lee Taehui, who finished at 10-under-par 278.

This marks Park’s second victory of the season, coming just two months after his win at the Dong-A Membership Group Open in August, bringing his total KPGA Tour wins to 14. Including his two victories on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), Park has 16 professional wins in total. In this KPGA Tour season, Ok Taehoon led with three victories, Moon Doyeob had two, and Park Sanghyun became the third multiple winner.

Sanghyun Park is smiling brightly while holding the trophy right after winning the KPGA Tour Championship. Photo by KPGA

Born in April 1983, Park Sanghyun is now 42 years and 7 months old. He is the first player in his 40s to achieve two wins in a single KPGA Tour season since Choi Kwangsoo did so in 2005, 20 years ago. As the all-time KPGA Tour career earnings leader, Park added 220 million won in prize money from this victory, raising his total career earnings to 5,893,720,000 won, bringing him close to surpassing the 6 billion won mark.

Park started the final round in fourth place, two shots behind the leader, and staged a come-from-behind victory. While co-leaders Jang Heemin and Lim Yetak faltered on the front nine, losing six and three strokes respectively, Park and Lee Taehui, who were in the group ahead, moved into a tie for the lead. Park then made consecutive birdies on the 12th (par 4) and 13th holes (par 5), taking a two-shot lead. Although he bogeyed the 17th hole (par 3), allowing Lee to tie for the lead, Park sank a nearly five-meter birdie putt on the final 18th hole (par 4) to secure the championship trophy.

In a post-victory interview, Park said, "The strong winds actually worked in my favor. I believed that as long as I managed my score well, I would get a good result, and persevering until the end led me to victory," he cheered.

Lee Taehui fought hard, reducing his score by one stroke, but had to settle for runner-up. He was unable to end his winless drought, which has lasted more than five years since the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in August 2020. Hwang Doyeon finished third (9-under-par 279), while Choi Jinho, Kim Woohyun, Cho Minkyu, Kim Dongmin, and Choi Chan tied for fourth (8-under-par 280). Park Sungguk placed ninth (7-under-par 281). Lee Hyungjun made a hole-in-one with a 6-iron on the 14th hole (par 3, 198 yards), earning a Genesis GV60 car as a prize. Lee Hyungjun finished tied for 25th (2-under-par 286).

Ok Taehoon, who achieved four crowns this year, is teeing off at the 1st hole of the 4th round of the KPGA Tour Championship. Photo by KPGA

Meanwhile, Ok Taehoon, who finished tied for 29th (1-under-par 287), secured four crowns this season: the Genesis Grand Prize (7,203.87 points), the money title (1,077,274,161 won), the lowest scoring average award (69.5797 strokes), and the most top-ten finishes (10 times). He stated, "I plan to compete in the final stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying (Q) School in the United States."

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