Rookie Kim Eui-in, KPGA Korean Tour opening No. 1 birdie…Choi Jin-ho played 200 games
The Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour opened a splendid opening to the largest season ever.
The KPGA Korean Tour started the 2023 season with the DB Insurance Promy Open (total prize money of 700 million won) held at the Old Course (par 72) at Ravier Bell Country Club in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do from the 13th.
A total of 144 players participated in the opening game and started a shot competition for the prize money of 144 million won. Last year’s winner, Park Sang-heon (30), will challenge for a second consecutive victory. The winner receives a 3-year seed and 1,000 Genesis Grand Prize points.
The KPGA Korean Tour started the season with a total prize money of 25 billion won in at least 25 tournaments this year. Although the final prize money for the four tournaments has not been finalized, the total prize money is expected to increase further as they are planning to hold more prize money than last year.
This is the first time that the total prize money of the Korean Tour has exceeded 25 billion won. Last year, it was 20.3 billion won.
Newcomer Kim Eui-in (24) became the main character of the first birdie in the opening.
Eui-in Kim, who started the game at 7:40 a.m. on the same day on the 1st hole in a group of 3, caught a birdie on his first hole (par 5) and tasted the joy of the 2023 season opening No. 1 birdie.
Eui-in Kim is a rookie who debuted on the Korean Tour this season after tying for 7th in the Korean Tour Qualifying Tournament last year. In 2016, when he was an amateur, he participated in the DP World Tour Shenzhen International held in China after qualifying. Kim A-in (29), who debuted as a professional on the Korean Women’s Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour in 2019 and plays on the Dream Tour, is Kim Eui-in’s older sister.
Kim Jun-seong (32), the winner of the 2016 KPGA Championship, picked out 4 birdies without a bogey in the opening game and recorded the first ‘bogey free’ by hitting a 4 under par 68.
Starting from the 10th hole, Kim Jun-seong caught his first birdie on the 15th hole (par 5) and added a birdie on the 18th hole (par 4) to reduce 2 strokes in the first half alone. Even in the second half, he pulled out birdies on holes 1 (par 5) and 5 (par 5) and did not record a single bogey. 토스카지노
The main character of Season 1 Eagle went back to Matthew Negri (USA). Negri, who started the game on the 10th hole (par 4), sent a tee shot 283 yards from the 1st hole (par 5) and sent the second shot 255 yards to send the ball to the front of the green. His third shot with 37 yards left to the hole was sucked into the hole and connected with an eagle.
Negri, who has been playing on the KPGA Korean Tour since 2021, has yet to win, and his personal best result is a tie for 20th place at the 2021 KPGA Championship with Hyundai Marine Choi Gyeong-ju Invitational last year.
Choi Jin-ho (39) and Park Seong-guk (35) set another record of 200 appearances on the KPGA Korean Tour in the opening match.
Choi Jin-ho made his Korean Tour debut at the 2005 Skyhill Jeju Open, and Park Seong-guk played his first Korean Tour match at the 2007 Tomato Savings Bank Tournament, achieving a record of 200 appearances in 17 seasons. In 2014, 2018, and 2019, Choi Jin-ho ran on the European DP World Tour, etc., and only 8 Korean Tour events were played in 3 seasons, so the record of 200 appearances was delayed. The record for the most appearances among Korean Tour players is Hwang In-choon (49) with 274.
A total of 19 rookies participated in this year’s opening match, and Ahn Seong-hyun (15), the national team member who advanced to the finals of the Korean Tour at the age of 13 years and 9 months at the Biz Play Electronic Times Open last year and set the record as the youngest person to pass the cut, made it to the opening match for two consecutive years. They are invited and aim to advance to the finals once again.