‘Unknown’ Baek Seok-hyeon (33, Hussem) took the lead until the second round of the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour SK Telecom Open (total prize money of 1.3 billion won).
On the second day of the tournament held at Seogwipo Pinx Golf Club (par 71, 7326 yards) in Jeju on the 19th, Baek Seok-hyun played the remaining 9 holes in the first round and 27 holes in the second round, and recorded an interim total of 12 under par 130.
Seok-hyun Baek beat Korean-Canadian Lee Tae-hoon (9 under par, 133 strokes) by 3 strokes and marked the sole lead.
Baek Seok-hyun, who immigrated to Thailand when he was in middle school, made his professional debut on the Asian Tour in 2008, and then worked mainly on the Asian Tour, Japan Tour, and Thailand Tour. He even had five wins during the Thailand tour.
Since then, he has been active on the Korean Tour in earnest since 2021, and he took the opportunity to win his first victory in his home country.
Baek Seok-hyun’s best personal record on the Korean Tour was a tie for 7th at last year’s Asiad CC Busan Open.
Seok-hyun Baek drove 9 under par in the first round that ended this morning. He set a personal record for lowest stroke by catching only nine birdies without bogey.
9 under par is also a course record tie at the Pinx Golf Club, but it was not recognized as a record because the preferred lie was applied in the first round due to bad weather.
In the second round that followed, Seok-Hyun Baek added 3 under par with 4 birdies and 1 bogey, maintaining his solo lead.
After the game, Baek Seok-hyun said, “I played with good energy. As the game went well, my confidence increased. I played 27 holes in one day, but I did not have any hard energy.”
He said, “In the first and second rounds, I putt without looking at the ball, but it went well,” he said.
‘Tank’ Kyung-ju Choi (53, SK Telecom) succeeded in passing the SK Telecom Open 20th cut.
Choi Gyeong-ju played 25 holes, including the remaining 7 holes in the first round and 18 holes in the second round, and scored a 1-under 141 in the interim total, marking a tie for 30th place.
41 players have yet to complete the second round as the match was suspended due to sunset at 7:36 p.m. on the day, but Choi Kyung-ju is certain to pass the cut, far exceeding the expected cutoff standard (2 over par).
Choi Kyung-ju participated in this tournament, his 26th, 21 times, passed the cut 20 times, and won three championships. Only once in 2001 did Choi Kyung-ju miss the cut at the SK Telecom Open.메이저놀이터
After the game, Choi Kyung-ju said, “I did my best every hole, even though I couldn’t perfectly adapt to the jet lag.”
He said, “I can chase after it even if it is 6-7 under par until the second round, but there is a considerable gap with the lead. I will try to catch a lot of birdies on the weekend.” I have to work on replenishing my stamina while eating,” he laughed.
Defending champion Kim Bio (33, Hoban Construction) tied for 38th with an even par of 142 until the second round.