Kim Min-kyu made it two wins in as many tournaments at the national title Korea Open Golf Championships after his ball dipped into the water and popped up.
Kim shot a 5-under-par 66 with one eagle, five birdies and two bogeys in the fourth round on the final day of the Kolon 66th Korean Open at Woojung Hills Country Club (Par 71) in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, on Wednesday.
With an 11-under-par 273 total, Kim returned to the top of the leaderboard two years after winning the 2022 Korea Open and took home 500 million won, the biggest prize in Korean golf.
Kim, who also won the Descent Korea Match Play, which concluded on Feb. 2, has now won two events on the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour for the first time this season and has quickly moved to the top of the season’s money list (KRW 772 million) and the top of the Order of Merit (3,926 points).
He also earned a spot in the British Open (The Open), which is awarded to the winner, and will return to the major in Scotland in July for the first time in two years.
The other D-Open berth went to Song Young-han, who shot an 8-under-par 276 total to finish in a tie for second place, three shots behind Kim Min-kyu.
Kim began the fourth round in a tie for third place, three strokes behind leader Song Young-han, but battled hard early on and eagled the eighth hole (par-5) to move into a share of the lead.
Kim hit his second shot from 227 yards and dropped it to three meters before sinking the eagle putt.
After sinking a 2.5-meter birdie putt on the 12th (par-4) to take a three-stroke lead, Kim faced a scary moment on the 13th (par-3).
Surrounded by a water hazard, his tee shot sailed left of the green and appeared to be in the water, but the ball miraculously bounced back into the rough with a single splash.
With his second shot, Kim put the ball on the green and saved the day with a par.
After taking a breather, Kim added a birdie on the 14th hole (par-4) to extend his lead to four strokes.
After dropping a shot on the 16th (par-3), Kim was down by two at one point, but he birdied the 18th (par-5) to seal the victory.
“When my tee shot went into the water on the 13th hole, I didn’t think it would come back up,” said Kim. “It reminded me of Choi Kyung-ju’s tee shot at the SK Telecom Open in May, when she put her ball on a stone tomb in the water hazard.”
“Now that I’ve won a big tournament, I want to top the money list this year and get a chance to play on the European or American second tier tours,” said Kim Min-gyu.
Song was in contention with the second-place group until the final hole, when he left his approach shot to one meter and birdied the hole to secure his spot in the cut.
Jang Yoo-bin dropped six strokes on the day to chase down the leaders, but finished in a tie for third place with Kang Kyung-nam at 7-under par 277. 토토사이트 순위
