Park Sang-hyun (left) and Kim Bio (right) will compete for the third championship cup of the Korea Golf Association (KGA) Asian Tour GS Caltex Maekyung Open (total prize money of 1.3 billion won) for the first time in history. The tournament will be held at Namseoul CC (par 71, 7062 yards) in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province for four days from the 4th.
Park Sang-hyun won the championship cup in 2016 and 2018. Although he turned 40 this year, he is showing the most terrifying rise in the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour this season.
He finished runner-up at the DB Insurance Promy Open, the season opener that ended on the 16th of last month, and tied for third at the Korea Championship held jointly by the KPGA Korean Tour and DP World Tour, which ended on the 30th. As a result, Park Sang-hyun is currently ranked 1st in Genesis prize money and average strokes, and 2nd in Genesis target points.
In particular, Park Sang-hyun knows Namseoul CC as clearly as if he were looking at the palm of his hand. He likes it enough to say, “It is the course that suits me best,” and his grades are good. He has achieved excellent results, including two championships, runner-up in 2014, 3rd in 2017, 4th in 2019, 3rd in 2021, and 10th last year. The course at Namseoul CC is not easy, so it is difficult to achieve good results if you do not use accurate iron shots. This is why Park Sang-hyun, who boasts accurate iron shots, has an advantage. He is also in good shape. At a press conference last week, Park Sang-hyun said, “I will do my best to lift the championship trophy once again at Namseoul CC.”크크크벳
Bio Kim is considered the opponent to stop Park Sang-hyun’s challenge for three wins in the tournament. If he climbed to the top in this competition in 2012 and last year and won this time, he will be the first to win the GS Caltex Maekyung Open three times and defend his title for the first time as an individual. Here, you can leave your name as the first player to achieve two consecutive victories at Namseoul CC. Bio Kim said, “I want to leave my name on a page in the history of the GS Caltex Cup by winning two consecutive years.”
In addition, Lee Tae-hee, the winner of the 2019 and 2020 competitions, Go Gun-taek, the winner of the opening match, and Jo Woo-young, who achieved the feat of winning the first amateur championship in 10 years at the Golfzon Open, are also aiming for a second win in the season.