'LIV Returnee' Yangubin Jang Aims for Fourth Victory at Maekyung Open

After playing in LIV Golf last year, Yangubin Jang has returned to the domestic scene this year, demonstrating that he is still in top form.

Yangubin Jang will compete in the 45th GS Caltex Maekyung Open (total prize money: 1.3 billion won), held from April 30 for four days at Nam Seoul Country Club in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province (par 71, 7,008 yards). The event is organized by the Korea Golf Association and the Asian Tour. It is one of four tournaments on the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA) Tour in the first half of the year with prize money of at least 1.3 billion won.

After the second round, players tied for up to 65th place will advance to the final rounds. The winner will receive a prize of 300 million won. In addition, the winner is awarded 1,200 Genesis points-more than the 1,000 points given at regular tournaments. As competition heats up in various major categories in the first half of the season, this is a tournament that no player wants to miss.

Yangubin Jang challenges for the victory at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open. Provided by KPGA

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The player drawing the most attention is Yangubin Jang. He has achieved three wins on the KPGA Tour to date. In 2024, he swept the top spots in key categories such as overall points, prize money, and scoring average. Last year, he became the first Korean player to join LIV Golf, but was hampered by a left thumb ligament injury. In all 13 LIV Golf events he entered, he finished outside the top 20, and eventually decided to return to Korea.

Yangubin Jang has made a solid start to the season. He warmed up with a tie for 25th at the opening event, the DB Insurance Promy Open, and then demonstrated his strength with a runner-up finish at last week’s Woori Financial Championship. There is keen interest in whether he will claim his fourth domestic career victory at this tournament.

Choi Chan, who notched his first career win at the Woori Financial Championship, will be aiming for back-to-back victories. He currently leads the Genesis points standings (1,102.5 points) and the prize money rankings (306,402,699 won). In 2019, Choi advanced through the qualifiers to play in the Maekyung Open main event but missed the cut. He commented, “My goal for this season was to win just once, and I’ve achieved it sooner than expected. I’ll do my best at every tournament to finish the season in the top 10 of the Genesis points standings.”

Last year’s champion, Moon Do-yeop, returns to the domestic tour after finishing sixth at last week’s Asian Tour Singapore Open. All eyes are also on Ham Jung-woo, who won the Singapore Open to secure a spot at The Open. Ok Tae-hoon, who dominated key categories last year, including the KPGA Genesis points and prize money titles, is also aiming for his first win of the season.

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