Seungtaek Oh Celebrates First Win in Six Years: "I Often Doubted If I Could Be a Champion"

Five Birdies in KPGA Founders Cup Final Round
Tears with His Mother After First Career Win
Chanmin Jeong Finishes Second; Doyeob Moon and Sangyeob Lee Share Sixth Place

Seungtaek Oh has claimed his first victory on the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour.

On May 10, at the Kyle Phillips Course of Golfzon County Yeongam 45 in Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do (par 72, 7,571 yards), he delivered a flawless performance in the final round of the KPGA Founders Cup (total prize money: 700 million won), carding five birdies without a single bogey. Seungtaek Oh shot a five-under-par 67, finishing with a total score of 12-under-par 276, to win the tournament by a one-shot margin. This marks his first victory in six years since debuting on the regular tour in 2021. The winner’s prize money is 142.28 million won.

During his amateur days, Seungtaek Oh represented the national team and won a silver medal in the individual event and a bronze medal in the team event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Although he secured two wins on the KPGA Challenge (second-tier) Tour, he had not collected a trophy on the regular tour. Before this tournament, his best finish was tied for sixth at the Donga Membership Open in August last year.

Seungtaek Oh is hugging his mother with tears right after winning the KPGA Founders Cup. Photo by KPGA

Starting the day tied for fifth, three strokes behind the leader, Seungtaek Oh reduced his score by three on the front nine to take the lead. Despite strong winds with gusts up to 10 meters per second, he continued his bogey-free play on the back nine. On the 13th hole (par 4), he sank a birdie putt from just over 10 meters to extend his lead to two shots. On the next hole (par 3), his tee shot found a bunker near the green, but he executed a brilliant bunker shot to add another birdie, stretching the lead to three strokes.

Immediately after his victory, Seungtaek Oh hugged his mother and shed tears of joy. He expressed his delight, saying, "I am so happy. It still feels like a dream." He added, "It was tough because I couldn't adapt quickly to the professional world," and declared, "I will aim for the ultimate goal of winning the Genesis Grand Prize and definitely advance to the United States."

Overnight leader Chanmin Jeong finished second at 11-under-par 277 after shooting a one-under-par 71. He closed the gap to one stroke with an eagle on the 15th hole (par 5), but was unable to lower his score further thereafter. Sanghoon Shin finished third (9-under-par 279), Jaehyun Jeong took fourth (8-under-par 280), and Kyungnam Kang placed fifth (7-under-par 281). Defending champion Doyeob Moon and this season’s DB Insurance Promy Open winner Sangyeob Lee shared sixth place (6-under-par 282).

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