Jo Wooyoung Wins Asian Tour Season Opener: "So Happy With My First Title"

Come-from-behind win with 5-under in Philippine Golf Championship final round
First Asian Tour title, second KPGA Tour victory
Tangkamolprasert finishes second, Wang Jeonghun tied for 23rd

Cho Uyoung has won the season-opening event on the Asian Tour.

In the fourth round of the Philippine Golf Championship (total prize money of 500,000 dollars) held on the 72-par course at Wack Wack Golf & Country Club in Manila, the Philippines, on February 8, he carded a 5-under-par 67 with six birdies and one bogey. With a final total of 11-under-par 277, Cho Uyoung finished four shots ahead of runner-up Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand. It was his first victory on the Asian Tour, and he earned 90,000 dollars in prize money (about 130 million won).

Cho Uyoung is smiling while holding the trophy just after a come-from-behind victory at the Philippine Golf Championship. Photo by Asian Tour

Cho Uyoung started the day tied for second, two strokes behind the leader, and looked shaky after making a bogey on the first hole (par 4). He changed the momentum with birdies on the second and third holes, then picked up another shot on the ninth hole (also a par 4) to stay in the title hunt. On the back nine, he sealed his come-from-behind win with a flawless performance, collecting three birdies without a blemish.

Cho Uyoung was a gold medalist in the men's team golf event at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. He mainly competes on the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour and the Asian Tour. Immediately after his victory, Cho Uyoung said through his management company All That Sports, "I am happy to win for the first time on the Asian Tour," adding, "This is my first win in an overseas tournament since I was 14, and the fact that I have now won on an overseas stage as a professional golfer will be a great driving force for me in my future tour career."

Regarding his goals for this season, he said, "Since I have started the season with a win, I want to keep this momentum going. My goal is to stay focused in every tournament and produce consistent results." After the tournament, Cho Uyoung plans to continue with a training camp in Thailand. Among the Korean players, Wang Jeonghun finished tied for 23rd at 2-over-par 290, and Kim Hongtaek finished tied for 58th at 8-over-par 296. The Asian Tour will continue with the New Zealand Open starting on February 26.

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