Choi Chan Claims First Career Victory: "Now I'll Enjoy Playing Even More"

Clinches Woori Financial Championship by Three Strokes
Celebrates First Career Victory Since Turning Pro in 2022
Leads Both the Money List and Genesis Points Standings

Choi Chan enjoyed the joy of his first victory.

On April 26, at the Valley·Seowon Course (par 71, 7,018 yards) of Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, he played the final fourth round of the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour Woori Financial Championship (total prize money: 1.5 billion won), recording five birdies and one bogey for a 4-under-par 67. With a final total of 13-under-par 271, Choi Chan beat joint runners-up Jang Yubin and Jeong Taeyang (10-under-par 274) by three strokes. He captured the winner's prize of 300 million won. He now tops the money list (306,402,699 won) and leads the Genesis Points ranking (1,102.5 points).

This is Choi Chan's first win since debuting on the KPGA Tour in 2022. Until now, his best result had been a tie for fourth at the Tour Championship in November last year. At last week's season-opening DB Insurance Promy Open, Choi was tied for the lead after the first round but lost momentum and finished tied for 34th overall.

Choi Chan is smiling while holding the trophy after claiming his first career victory at the Woori Financial Championship. Photo by KPGA

On this day, Choi Chan seemed to be falling out of the title race, as he exchanged birdies and bogeys on the front nine without reducing his score. However, he regained momentum with consecutive birdies on the 10th and 12th holes, and moved into the lead with another birdie on the 14th hole (all par 4). On the 16th hole (par 5), he brought his third shot within 2 meters of the hole and made another birdie, solidifying his victory.

Choi Chan said, "I really didn't expect to win. My play wasn't going well until the front nine, but after focusing on every hole in the back nine, I was able to seize the opportunity," adding, "Since I'm still lacking experience, I thought I would get greedy if I started thinking about winning, so I just tried to focus on my game." Having secured his tour card through 2028 with this win, he smiled brightly and said, "From now on, I think I can enjoy the tournaments more and play with confidence."

Jang Yubin, who returned after a stint in LIV Golf last year, finished in a tie for second place. Last year's winner, Lee Taehun (Canada), who started the day tied for the lead, was unable to improve his score and dropped to a tie for fourth place (9-under-par 275). Choi Jin-ho, Shin Sang-hoon, and Lee Dong-min also joined this group. Im Sung-jae, a member of the U.S. PGA Tour and the champion of this tournament in 2023 and 2024, finished tied for 39th (2-under-par 282).

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