Michael Block and Tom Lewis confirmed for England
American cult hero Michael Block and local favourite Tom Lewis are the latest names confirmed to join a star-studded field for the International Series England at Foxhills Club & Resort from 8-11 August 2024.
Block (main picture) made waves worldwide last year when he hit a hole-in-one and finished in the top-15 of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club as a club professional.
Lewis, a member at Foxhills, grabbed international headlines by taking a share of the first-round lead in the 2011 Open Championship as a 20-year-old amateur. He ultimately finished T30 at Royal St George’s, before turning professional and going on to win his maiden European Tour title in only his third professional start at the Portugal Masters later that year.
The pair join a range of world-class stars from the LIV Golf League including the English trio of Ian Poulter (Majesticks GC), Richard Bland (Cleeks GC) and Sam Horsfield (Majesticks GC), who are sure to have a vocal home support.
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (Smash GC), the 2010 US Open champion, is also confirmed along with Harold Varner III (4Aces GC) and Hudson Swafford (wildcard) from the US, while India’s Anirban Lahiri (Crushers GC), Branden Grace from South Africa (Stinger GC) and Belgian star Thomas Pieters (RangeGoats GC), make it a truly international affair.
Tom Lewis will be looking to capitalise on home advantage as he is a member at Foxhills.
Block said: “I’m really looking forward to teeing it up with the guys and there is no doubt that the strength of the field will be strong, however this is what I live for, to play against some of the best players in the world and compare my game.
“I believe The International Series is now one of the best possible avenues for any golf pro throughout the world and I have no doubt that you are going to see more and more budding American golfers doing their best to qualify and play in The International Series.”
Block has history at Foxhills, located in Surrey. In the 2022 PGA Cup tournament, playing for the US club professionals team against Great Britain & Ireland, Block recorded five birdies in the final six holes of his singles match to complete a remarkable turnaround from four down to help the visitors earn a 15.5-10.5 victory.
Block said: “That was one of the best memories of my life, hands down. I will definitely be able to look back at that week and take a ton of positive thoughts from it which is so important in the game of golf.”
Of the venue’s highly-regarded Longcross course, he added: “The course definitely fits my game and the turf conditions remind me of where I grew up. I am just hoping for some decent weather which I know could be up in the air, but everyone will be playing in the same conditions, one way or the other, which is why I love the game of golf.”
Ian Poulter secured second place in last year’s International Series England.
Lewis, a four-time winner in his professional career with two wins on the DP World Tour and one apiece on the Korn Ferry Tour and Challenge Tour, is relishing the prospect of home advantage in more ways than one.
He said: “It is always great playing in the UK, I love being home. As a member here, it is a course I know more than most. I feel it could be a course that will set up well for me. So to play in front of home support at a club I know well is exciting for me and I am sure for the members.”
Referring to the stellar field, he added: “I feel it is particularly important that bigger names play in these events. It gives the event good exposure and can attract attention. I hope we all play well and can be towards the top when it comes to Sunday afternoon.”
The tournament is the fourth of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour that form a pathway onto the LIV Golf League.
The cream of the Asian Tour will also be competing, as part of the season-long race for The International Series Rankings title, with the champion securing a place on the LIV Golf League and over 30 places available for the season-ending LIV Golf Promotions event.
American John Catlin, who won back-to-back events at the International Series Macau presented by Wynn and the Saudi Open presented by PIF, and is currently leading the Asian Tour Order of Merit and is second on The International Series Rankings.
Asian Tour number one John Catlin has made an immediate impact on the LIV Golf League. Picture by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.
Catlin’s confidence will be high. Those performances on The International Series and Asian Tour earned him invites to play on the LIV Golf League in two recent events in Houston and Nashville, and he showed his undoubted quality with T24 and T7 finishes.
Two-time Hong Kong Open winner Wade Ormsby from Australia is also one of the men to watch alongside multiple Asian Tour champions Gaganjeet Bhullar of India and Scott Hend of Australia.
Ayoub Lguirati (main picture) is part of a select group of home favourites flying the flag for the region at International Series Morocco, and the local hero is hoping to reproduce his impressive form from two years ago when he tees it up on Royal Golf Dar Es Salam’s testing Red Course next week.
International Series Morocco is the third of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour calendar that offer a pathway onto the LIV Golf League, while also giving local and regional talent an opportunity to play elite-level golfers from around the world.
In the 2022 edition, Lguirati was the sole Moroccan to make the cut, and he went on to impress with a superb T28 finish.
This year, Lguirati is one of seven Moroccans in a world-class field that features LIV Golf League stars including Graeme McDowell, Branden Grace, Peter Uihlein and Caleb Surratt, as well as multiple Asian Tour champions Scott Hend, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Jazz Janewattananond, the 2022 champion.
Lguirati said: “The tournament is very important for us as local golfers, it is amazing to have this event in Morocco because it opens a lot of opportunities outside the country, especially on the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour.
Ayoub Lguirati.
“As players we get the opportunity to really learn every day from those around us. After my experience in 2022, and learning from the players in the field then, I am a lot better in my process. I am calm and more relaxed, I try to respect my strategy and play my game and be more patient.”
The 29-year-old is joined in the field by local professionals Othman Raouzi and Ayoub Id-Omar, as well as promising amateurs Hugo Mazen Trommetter, Aissa Elkhadri, Adam Bresnu and Soufiane Dahmane.
UAE amateur Ahmad Skaik and American amateur Davis Bryant also received tournament invites from the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation (RMGF).
The Saudi trio of Othman Almulla, Saud Al Sharif and Faisal Salhab will also be representing the region.
All will be hoping to follow in Lguirati’s footsteps. His impressive finish in Rabat last time out paid major dividends, in the form of an invite to International Series Egypt in Cairo the following week.
Another impressive display, and a T37 in Cairo, then gave Lguirati a spot at the
season-ending BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE, where he once again made the cut and finished T38 in a star-studded field.
Ayoub Lguirati.
Lguirati, who currently plies his trade on the Asian Development Tour, is hoping that home advantage will count for something.
He said: “We have some really talented players from Morocco and the region this year, a nice mix of professionals and amateurs, and this is a terrific opportunity for all, we have a good team of Moroccan players.
“Playing the Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam is a big advantage for the Moroccan players as it is a home course for us. It is a very difficult course, the greens especially are very tough, so it is good for us to have the course knowledge and home advantage.”
International Series Morocco takes place from 4-7 July. It is the third event on The International Series calendar and the eighth event of the Asian Tour season.
Taichi Kho says he can “internalise a lot of positives” after his best result of the season so far at last week’s Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD – which has put him in an excellent frame of mine ahead of two important weeks.
The 23-year-old Hong Kong number one finished in a tie for 13th on Sunday – a strong performance against Korea’s best players on one of their toughest courses, Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
He shot rounds of 73-67-71-73 to finish on even par and played the final round in a high-profile group, consisting of Korea’s Yubin Jang, who was equal third, and Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines, who finished fifth.
Korea’s Minkyu Kim closed with a 66 win by three on eleven under.
“It is good progress, that is all I could really ask for,” said Kho, who claimed the gold medal at last year’s Huanzhou Asian Games, and earlier in the year the World City Championship presented by Hong Kong Golf Club to become the first player from Hong Kong to win on the Asian Tour.
Taichi Kho pictured with his Asian Games gold medal last year. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“As a golfer you always look back and think about the things you could have done better but I can definitely internalise a lot of positives from the week.
“My game is heading in the right direction, which is great, and I think it is a big step forward.
“It was not an easy golf course. The mental challenge seeing the golf course is one thing, and also the physical challenge. Playing in the rough, greens are firm, it rained hard on day three, there were a lot of challenging elements, so I am pleased to have observed myself go through the week and see how I handled all those situations.”
Jet-setting Kho flew out on Sunday night to Switzerland where he is playing in a qualifying event this week for the Omega European Masters. He’ll also play in a qualifier for The Open in the UK before travelling to the International Series Morocco next week.
He played in The Open last year for the first time, missing the cut, thanks to his victory in Hong Kong.
Taichi Kho at The Open last year. Picture by Warren Little/Getty Images.
He explained: “I just want to give myself opportunities to play everywhere. It is a lot of travel, but I definitely enjoy it. The Asian Tour is putting up a great schedule at the back end of the year, so I am really looking forward to it.”
His best other performance in 2024 came at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport back in February, where finished joint 14th. He is currently in 48th place on the Asian Tour, with much to play for.
“The season has been pretty solid so far. I have not put in too many strong results yet, but I feel like the game is heading in the right direction. I have been trying a couple different things just to see if that can help me go in the right direction,” he said.
“It’s weird with golf, when you try to get better you end up going back to what worked before. I feel like I am maturing as a golfer and figuring it out as I go along. Overall, I have been hitting it good all year.”
Korean Minkyu Kim claimed his second Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD in the space of two years today to draw a line under a couple of challenging seasons.
He closed with a five-under-par 66 at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, just south of Seoul – the scene of his win in 2022 – to finish on 11-under for a three-shot victory over compatriot Younghan Song, the overnight leader who carded a 71.
Koreans Yubin Jang, who returned a best of the day 65, and Kyungnam Kang, in with a 71, finished in a tie for third, one shot back.
Filipino Miguel Tabuena fired a 67 to take sole possession of fifth a stroke further behind, his best result of the season.
Open bound: Minkyu Kim and Younghan Song.
The result means both Kim and Song secured the two places available in year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon in July, as the event is part of the Open Qualifying Series.
Kim, aged 23 and a professional since 2017, started Sunday two behind Song but moved two ahead of playing-partner Song at the turn, with Jang three back. He’d toured the front in three-under with an eagle, on eight, two birdies and a bogey.
By hole 12, which he birdied, he had a three-shot cushion, but it looked like he was in trouble on the par-three 13th following an unexpected and uncharacteristically lose tee shot. His ball landed in the water in front of the green but somehow it popped up and finished on the edge of the island green, in semi-rough. He capitalised on his good fortune and got up and down for a par and quickly put that behind him by making a birdie on the next to go four ahead.
He dropped a shot on the 16th and with Jang, playing two groups ahead, carding a birdie on 17 it meant the gap was down to two.
However, a confident birdie on the par-five last sealed the deal for Kim. Song also made birdie on 18 to snatch second place from Jang, who made bogey there, and Kang – second here last year and narrowly missing out on another trip to The Open.
Yubin Jang.
Two years ago Kim was on the crest of a wave after winning his National Open by beating countryman Mingyu Cho in a three-hole play-off, but two months later he was in a car crash on the eve of the International Series Korea on Jeju Island.
It was two months before he could play again and he has gradually worked his way back since, including finishing equal fourth here last year.
However, this month has proven to be pivotal for Kim as he won the Descente Korea Munsingwear Matchplay at the start of month for just his second win on home soil before today’s victory validated all his hard work.
It is the sixth win of his career which began with three wins in 2017 – two on the Euro Pro Tour and one on the Jamega Pro Tour – before he made global headlines the following season with victory in the D+D Real Czech Challenge to become the European Challenge Tour’s youngest winner at the age of 17.
“I feel like I am dreaming,” said Kim.
“[On hole 13] I tried to hit a fade, but it flew too low. It hit water and came up. I went over and the ball was there.”
When KJ Choi won the SK Telecom Open earlier this year he had a similar incident on an island green in a play-off.
Miguel Tabuena.
Said Kim: “I was thinking about K.J Choi’s SK Telecom Open island shot at that moment. After I survived that I felt I was going to win, and then I birdied the next hole.”
Victory in 2022 also saw him qualify for The Open, played at St Andrews. He did not make the cut but will hope to rectify that this summer.
“I have been to Royal Troon before to watch an Open when I was at junior high school, so I will go there with good memories,” he added.
Tabuena had a chance to win today and was five under for his round after 14, just off the lead, but made his first bogey of the day on 15 and then dropped another shot on the next.
He bounced back on the last hitting a fairway wood into six feet but just missed the eagle putt.
“It was a great week overall; I have been battling some things with my game,” said Tabuena.
“After I missed the cut in Oman this year, I changed my irons and then I lost my confidence. Then a couple of weeks ago I made the switch back to the irons and putter I was using before. I am slowly getting there but my game is trending. Any week you finish top five it’s excellent.”
Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho also had an encouraging week. He signed off with a 73 to tie for 13th, on even par for the tournament. Like Tabuena it was his best result of 2024.
The Asian Tour has a one week break now before heading to the International Series Morocco, where Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond will try and defend the title he won in 2022, when the event was last played. The tournament will be played on the Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in the capital Rabat once again, from July 4-7.
Korean Younghan Song, best known for his famous win in the Singapore Open in 2016 when he held off then world number one Jordan Spieth from the United States, will have a chance to claim another of the region’s National Opens tomorrow after taking the third-round lead in the Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD.
Song’s game was in tune despite persistent rain and grey skies all day that replaced the sunshine of the opening two days.
He shot a best of the day four-under-par 67 to move in front on eight-under at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, to lead by one from compatriot and overnight leader Kang Kyungnam, in with a 72, and two from the 2022 champion Minkyu Kim, who carded a 71.
Kang Kyungnam.
The trio played together in the final pairing with Song edging ahead after a birdie on 18, on a testing day when it rained non-stop. There were two rain delays, at 12.15pm and 2.15pm, with play eventually finishing in fading light at about 8pm local time.
Song, who mainly plays on the Japan Golf Tour, trailed Kang for most of the day, but was a picture of consistency making four birdies and not dropping a shot.
After winning in Singapore further success did not follow but last year he returned to the winners’ circle by winning the Sansan KBC Augusta in Japan.
Kang, also the second-round leader, has come close to winning this tournament on several occasions before. He was second last year, while almost 20 years ago he tied for third in 2006 and finished equal fourth in 2007 – on each occassion at Woo Jeong Hills, home to the event since 2003.
His 2006 attempt saw him shoot an eight-under-par 63 in the second round, which is the course record, also held by four other players.
Three bogeys saw him struggle to hold onto the lead today, while he made two birdies.
Minkyu Kim.
A strong international contingent have an outside chance tomorrow with Filipino Miguel Tabuena and Taichi Kho from Hong Kong in a tie for seventh on two under. Tabuena shot a 68, while Kho fired a 71.
England’s Steve Lewton carded a 73 and is one stroke further back.
Play will commence at 7am tomorrow morning.
The event is once again part of the Open Qualifying Series, meaning the leading two players, not otherwise exempt, will qualifying for the forthcoming Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, to be played from July 18-21.
Total prizemoney for the event is KRW1,400,000,000 (approx. US$1.013 million).
Kyungnam Kang made the most of his affinity for Woo Jeong Hills Country Club today taking the halfway lead in the Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD.
The Korean, second here last year and the course record holder with four other players, played in the afternoon and shot his second four-under-par 67 for a two-round total of eight-under – an impressive tally on a difficult course.
It gave him a two-shot cushion over compatriot Minkyu Kim, the 2022 champion. Kim, out in the morning session, held the clubhouse lead for much of the day after returning a 65.
Korean Younghan Song (68) is a further two behind, while England’s Steve Lewton (71) is another shot back.
Kang carded an eight-under-par 63 here in 2006 and that is still the course record although a group of players, including Rickie Fowler in 2011, have matched it.
Minkyu Kim.
He made six birdies and two bogeys today and looked in complete control, especially when he made three successive birdies from the fifth.
“I played happily in the same group as Minkyu on the last day last year, so I will use that experience this weekend,” said Kang.
“I am hitting the ball really straight. I used to fade the ball but recently I have stopped putting so much spin on the ball, so it’s staying straight. It’s really helped me a lot with my approach shots.”
His second place finish here 12 months ago saw him secure one of the two places up for grabs in The Open. He went on to miss the cut in the game’s oldest Major but will be targeting another appearance this year as this week’s tournament is once again part of the Open Qualifying Series. Last year’s winner Steve Seungsu Han was the other player who made it through to The Open, but having missed the cut this week, with rounds of 82 and 72, there will be no repeat trip for him.
Kang added: “When I feel like giving up, I remember my experience at the British Open last year and I get my mind together. I want to win a berth again and get back there.”
Forty-one-year-old Kang is an 11-time winner on the Korean PGA Tour, has never won on the Asian Tour and is looking for his first win in Korea since 2021.
Judging on recent form in Korea – he has had six top 20s in his last seven starts – he’ll likely be in the running on Sunday.
Steve Lewton.
Kim’s performance so far is representative of his return to form.
He beat fellow Korean Mingyu Cho in a play-off at Woo Jeong Hills to win here two years ago but two months later he was in a car accident, the resulting injuries meant he was unable to play for several months.
He has been gradually working his way back since, winning on the Korean PGA Tour at the start of the month, in the Descente Korea Munsingwear Matchplay for just his second win on home soil, before a fine round today points to a player back to his best.
He said: “I played well today. It was a better score than I expected. I wasn’t hitting the ball well on the range, but once I got on the course, it worked out.”
Woo Jeong Hills is a notoriously demanding golf course with the championship committee setting it up with penal rough, narrow fairways and perilous putting surfaces but Kim was one of the few players to rise to the challenge.
He started on 10 and made the turn in one under with three birdies and two bogeys but then toured the second half in four under with four birdies.
Jang Jubin.
“When I was talking with other players before the tournament, they said that the difficulty level was getting easier, but the course is still difficult … the set-up, the flagstick positions, etc,” said Kim, who tied for fourth last year and who’s winning score in 2022 was four-under.
“The Korea Open is a big tournament; I think it’s right to play at a challenging golf course like Woo Jeong Hills. I think the challenging setting suits the event.”
Lewton hasn’t missed a cut this year and is playing some of the best golf of his career and will attempt to become the first Englishman to win Korea’s National Open.
“Didn’t play quite as well as yesterday, felt I had a chance to do better,” said Lewton.
“Got off to great start on front nine with eight pars and a birdie, which set me up but dropped a few on the second nine. Missed a few putts I should have made. It’s a tough golf course but I am well placed heading into the weekend”
Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho is starting to put together one of his best tournaments of the year. He fired a 67 and is two under in a tie for sixth with Korea’s Hongtaek Kim (68), winner of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last month, and countryman Jang Jubin (72).
Two-time Korea Open winner Sangmoon Bae, the joint leader at the start of the day, fired a 74 and is tied on one under.
Total prizemoney for the event is KRW1,400,000,000 (approx. US$1.013 million).
Pictures courtesy of the Korean Golf Association.
Korean Sangmoon Bae (main picture) rolled back the years in the Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD today, the event he won in 2008 and 2009, taking a share of the lead on the opening day.
He carded a four-under-par 67 at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, the venue for both of his wins, along with countrymen Kyungnam Kang, second here last year, and Sungyeol Kwon.
England’s Steve Lewton returned a 68 along with Koreans Yubin Jang, who stormed home with an eagle on the iconic par-five 18th, Taehoon Ok and Jinjae Byun, plus Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang.
Bae is based in the United States, where he has triumphed on the US PGA Tour twice and on the Web.com Tour once, and rarely returns to play on home soil.
Kyungnam Kang.
However, he played in the Korean PGA Championship on the Korean PGA Tour at the start of the month, finishing in a tie for second place, and he looks to be in a similar vein of form this week.
He turns 38 tomorrow and is revelling being in the lead in a big event, something that does not happen so often these days, unlike the majority of his brilliant career.
“I’m excited and nervous to compete at the top,” he said.
“There is also some anxiety. So many other great players are in contention. To win you have to play well for four days. I have to play carefully and calmly.”
He started on the back nine and made six birdies in total, including on 17 and 18, and carded two bogeys. He chipped in for two of those birdies, on 10 and 17.
Despite his fine start, he felt his game was far from under control on a golf course set up by the Korean Golf Association to try and mirror Major championship conditions, with fast greens and unforgiving rough.
Sungyeol Kwon.
Said Bae: “My shots with my driver didn’t go the way I wanted them to, I played a lot of shots from the rough and missed plenty of greens. I also struggled with my pitch shots. But overall, I’m happy with the way I played. Those chip ins gave me momentum.”
He also said he is drawing inspiration from Korean legend K.J. Choi after he won the SK Telecom Open in Korea last month at the age of 54 – becoming the oldest golfer to win a tournament on the Korean PGA Tour.
“I watched K.J.’s win and I was inspired. I texted him after the second round and said, ‘you young kids are killing it’. We talked for 10 minutes.”
Bae’s most recent win came at the Albertsons Boise Open on the Web.com Tour in 2018, a year after he had completed his National Service in Korea.
Prior to his near two-year stint with the military, he had established himself as one of his country’s finest players. He triumphed on the PGA Tour in 2013 and 2014, claimed nine titles in Korea, and won three events on both the Asian Tour and Japan Tour.
Lewton’s solid opening round reflects his excellent start to the season which has seen him make the cut in all five of the events he has entered.
Steve Lewton.
“I have only played here once before, last year, and really struggled,” said Lewton, who made a 27-hour trip from his home in Leicester to get here.
“The course is slightly different this year, there is not quite as much rough even though it is still very penal. I came with a slightly different game plan: I didn’t hit nearly as many drivers. I used the driver five times; last year I hit it about 10.”
He is currently in 20th position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, having tied for ninth in the season-opening Malaysian Open, his best result of the season to date, while he also finished equal 11th when the Tour was last in Korea for the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last month.
He added: “I worked hard over the break. I feel like I have played pretty good for three rounds but it’s just one round that just isn’t quite good enough, don’t always know which round it is going to be. My goal this week is to have four consistent rounds. I changed my swing over the break, working with my coach, Corey Vincent, the brother of my caddie, and a 3D coach in the US, on posture and alignment.”
A big football fan, when asked if he planned to watch the England Denmark game in the Euros tonight, which is on at 1 a.m. in Seoul, he replied: “100% yes!”
Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam, who was beaten in a sudden-death play-off at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, is clearly enjoying being back in Korea after shooting a 70.
Korean Hongtaek Kim, the man who beat him to win that event, fired a 73.
Defending champion Seungsu Han from the United States got off to the worst possible start carding an 82.
This year marks the 66th staging of Korea’s flagship tournament, which has been played at Woo Jeong Hills, an hour outside of the capital Seoul, since 2003.
It is once again part of the Open Qualifying Series, meaning the leading two players, not otherwise exempt, will qualifying for the forthcoming Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, to be played from July 18-21.
Total prizemoney for the event is KRW1,400,000,000 (approx. US$1.013 million).
Photos courtesy of Korean Golf Association.
After two forgettable seasons since winning the Kolon Korea Open in 2022 – the consequence of having to recover from a car crash, a few months after that memorable victory – Minkyu Kim returns to the event this week, here at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, with renewed hope after a much-needed, morale boosting win on the Korean PGA Tour three weeks ago.
The 23-year-old triumphed in the Descente Korea Munsingwear Matchplay for just his second win on home soil, beating Wooyoung Cho in the final – another young star, who was a member of the Korean team that won gold at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games.
“I’ve been thirsty for a win, and I’m proud of myself,” said Kim this week.
“But I have a long way to go, so I’m going to take this as a moment of joy, a moment that I cherish, and move on. At the moment, my condition is different every week, so I’m trying to find a good feeling every week.”
2022 champion: Minkyu Kim.
He beat compatriot Mingyu Cho in a back-and-forth three-hole play-off at Woo Jeong Hills to win his national Open.
It was supposed to be the spark that lit the fuse on his career for a player who in 2018 made global headlines with victory in the D+D Real Czech Challenge to become the European Challenge Tour’s youngest winner at the age of 17.
However, just two months later, at the end of August, tragedy struck at the International Series Korea on Jeju Island when he was involved in a car crash. Details of the incident are scant as Kim is not keen to talk about it, but it took him two months to reach the point where he could play golf again.
He explains: “It was an unfortunate accident. I had to miss some tournaments to recover. In the 2023 season, I did have a few chances to win but I missed out. It has just been a very disappointing 2022 and 2023 for me.”
His form has been a far cry from when he won here two years ago. He holed a pressure-packed 10-foot birdie putt on the famous par-five 18th here on the third play-off hole – the event has adopted a three-hole play-off like The Open as opposed to sudden-death – to overturn a two-shot deficit as Cho made bogey.
“I have so many good memories and feelings here,” said Kim, who tied for fourth place year despite his troubles.
“In that final round I made good putts in the last few holes to win the title, and the last putt on the 18th hole in the play-off was very memorable.
Hongteak Kim pictured winning the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in May.
“Golf is a game that has good times and bad times, so I try to accept that and play it.”
A stellar field has once again entered the tournament, which is the 66th staging of the event. Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, an hour outside of Seoul, has been its regular home since 2003 – when John Daly raised the trophy.
American Seungsu Han is back to defend the title he claimed by the commanding margin of six shots last year. Coincidentally, he won the KB Financial Liiv Championship on the Korean PGA Tour the week before Kim’s comeback victory.
Korean Hongtaek Kim, winner of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in May, for what was the Asian Tour’s first visit of the year to Korea, is also here.
He said: “This week’s tournament is one of the tournaments that I want to win the most, like all Korean players. I’ve played well in the majors in Korea this year; I have not hit a bad shot.”
He beat Thailand’s Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam in a sudden-death play-off to win the Maekyung event. A star on the golf simulator circuit on Korea’s GTour – his nickname is King of the Screen thanks to 12 wins – he drained a four-foot par putt on the first extra hole to claim one of Korea’s most coveted titles.
“I still can’t believe I won; I am still so happy and full of confidence,” he added.
Competitors will face conditions that mirror Major championships this week with the rough deep, the greens undulating and treacherous and the weather hot and steamy.
The reward though is also of major significance as the winner will have his name added to the illustrious list of past champions that includes Major winners, Korean Y.E. Yang, Fiji’s Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia from Spain and Americans Daly and Orville Moody – winner of the first three editions event, starting in 1958.
The Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD is part of the Open Qualifying Series, meaning the leading two players, not otherwise exempt, will qualifying for this summer’s Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, to be played from July 18-21.
Seungsu Han did not start the 65th Kolon Korea Open on anyone’s radar but he really should have. Story from the 2023 Asian Tour Yearbook.
He’d won big before, at the Casio World Open in Japan in 2017, and the 2020 LG Signature Players Championship on the Korean PGA Tour.
And although it was some years ago, he had also been a serious player in the amateur game, attending the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and winning the 2006 Porter Cup – a long-standing, prestigious amateur event in the United States won by some of the game’s biggest names, including Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Ben Crenshaw.
So, when he claimed the jewel in the crown of Korean golf after recording an astonishing start-to-finish victory it perhaps should not have been such a surprise.
For the fourth day on the trot, hot and sunny conditions prevailed at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, but the 36-year-old stayed cool and handled the pressure of front running from the-get-go to close with an even-par 71 for a six-under-par winning total and a commanding six-shot triumph over Korea’s Kyungnam Kang, who also carded a 71.
Last year Seungsu Han became the 12th wire-to-wire winner of the event.
Korean Seungbin Choi claimed third, a shot further back, after shooting a 68 – the best round of the day, and one of only two sub-70 rounds – on the fantastic but formidable Woo Jeong Hills track, just over an hour outside of the capital Seoul.
Han’s magnificent triumph also allowed him to secure one of the two spots on offer for The Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in July. Kang, an 11-time winner on the Korean PGA Tour, took the other place.
Any doubts that Han, who started Sunday with a slim one-shot lead over Korean Jaekyeong Lee, would succumb to the pressure were soon put to rest on the front nine when he made the turn with a five-shot lead.
It was just the cushion he was looking for despite an up-and-down front nine, consisting of three birdies and two bogeys. His lead was seven at one point on the back nine with the rest of the field going backwards while he was coasting.
He averted potential disaster on the par-four 15th after a wayward tee-shot left saw his ball finish in a terrible lie – in long, thick grass. Bravely opting not to take a drop he hit an explosive recovery shot back into play, reached the green with his third and to the roar of the crowd holed a 30-footer for an astonishing par save – affirming this was most certainly his week, and the greatest of his career at that point.
Han and Kyungnam Kang both made it through to The Open.
His lead was cut to six on the ensuing hole after a bogey and by the 18th he was five ahead; he put the icing on the cake by holing a six-foot birdie putt on the testing par-five final hole, which was surrounded by huge, patriotic galleries.
“This is such a great honour,” said Han, whose western name is Steve.
“I was really struggling with foot pains and my throat wasn’t good either, so it was tremendously challenging. I hardly looked at the scores, maybe a few times. I didn’t look at it on purpose. It was about being mentally strong and my putting was great, I holed some long ones.
“I first started playing golf in Korea when I was 13, so the Korea Open means a lot to me. I think it is the best tournament in Korea.”
Born in Incheon, Korea, he moved to the United States when he was 13. He still lives there and first started to play in Asia back in 2010, enjoying most of his success in Japan.
Remarkably he was the only player to finish under par, and for his fine effort he earned a cheque for US$222,222.
He became the 12th wire-to-wire winner of the tournament, and the seventh American to win after Ricky Fowler (2011), Edward Loar (2004), John Daly (2003), Mike Cunning (1994), Scott Hoch (1990 and 1991), and Orville Moody, who won the first three editions of the event starting in 1958.
Han’s six-shot winning margin also matched the record set by Fowler, based on records going back to 1996.
Making it through to The Open marked the second time he had played in a Major. He missed the cut there, unlike at the PGA Championship in 2018.
Seungsu Han.
Defending champion Minkyu Kim of Korea returned a 73 to tie for fourth on two-over-par with countrymen Dongmin Lee, Jaekyeong Lee and Junghwan Lee, and Australian Brendan Jones – winner of the New Zealand Open earlier in the season.
Tournament info
- Tournament: Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD
- Date: June 20-23, 2024
- Leg: seventh event of 2024 season
- Edition: 66th (Asian Tour 1998-2004, 2006-2008, 2018- 2023, no event due to Covid in 2020)
- Venue: Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Cheonan, Korea
- Course designer: Perry Dye & Dye Design Inc.
- Year opened: 1993
- Course record: eight-under-par 63. Rickie Fowler (2011), Kyungnam Kang (2006)
- Par/Yards: 71 / 7,326
- Purse: KRW1,400,000,000 (approx. US$1.013 million)
- Field: 144
- Format: 72-hole stroke play
- Cut made after two rounds for the leading 60 players and ties including amateurs
- Social Media Hashtags: #KolonKoreaOpen #whereitsAT
Seungsu Han at the winner’s press conference last year.
Field breakdown
- Order of Merit winners: Sihwan Kim (US) 2022, Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 2019
- Nationalities: 15
- Past winners of the tournament in the field: Jazz Janewattanond (THA), Seungsu Han (USA), Junseok Lee (AUS), Minchel Choi (KOR), Minkyu Kim (KOR), Yikeun Chang (KOR), Seunghyuk Kim (KOR), Sangmoon Bae (KOR)
- Defending champion: Seungsu Han (US). Winning score at same venue was six under. He won by six strokes over Korean Kyungnam Kang in 2023
- Top contenders: Hongtaek Kim (KOR), Richard T. Lee (CAN), Takahiro Hataji (JPN), Younghan Song (KOR), Yubin Jang (KOR)
- Highest ranked player on OWGR: Takahiro Hataji (JPN) #222
- Highest ranked player on 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit: Hongtaek Kim (KOR) #4
- Amateurs: 8
- Korean players in the field: 96
Two places in The Open are up for grabs this week.
Tournament notes:
- The tournament is part of the Open Qualifying Series (OQS). The leading two players, not already exempt, will gain exemption into the 152nd Open Championship to be held at Royal Troon in July.
- Defending champion Seungsu Han won on the Korean PGA Tour last month at the KB Financial Live Championship. 2022 Korea Open champion Minkyu Kim won the week after at the 14th Descent Korea Match Play.
- With the top three players on the Order of Merit not playing this week joint fourth place players Takahiro Hataji and Hongtaek Kim will have a chance to move up to third in the rankings with a win.
- Hataji captured his first Asian Tour victory at the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport in early March this year, and also won the Kansai Open Golf Championship on the Japan Golf Tour in May for his second professional victory.
- When Hongtaek Kim won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship in a playoff against Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam in early May, it was his first Asian Tour victory and second as a pro since he won the 2017 Caido Series Donga Membership Group Dynamic Busan Open.
- Canadian Richard T. Lee is off to a good start to his season and narrowly missed the play-off with Hongtaek Kim and Chonlatit Chuenboonngam at the GS Caltex Maekyung Golf Championship. He has also posted an eighth-place finish at the International Series Macau presented by Wynn, a third place at the SK Telecom Open and a tied seventh at the 67th KPGA Championship With A-One CC, the latter two events part of the Korean PGA Tour.
- Yubin Jang from Korea is the current leader of the Genesis Point Ranking on the Korean PGA Tour with a runner up placing and three other top 10s so far this season, one of those being a tied fourth at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship.
- Korean Changsang Han won this tournament a record seven times, between 1964-1972. The only year he didn’t win in that period was in 1969. Of current players in the field, only Sangmoon Bae has won the tournament more than once, in 2008 and 2009.
- The tournament, inaugurated in 1958, has been played at Woo Jeong Hills since 2003.
Yubin Jang was the leading amateur last year, finishing tied 28th. He starts as one of the favourites this week having turned professional last year. He currently leads the Korean PGA Tour money list.
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