Sanghee Lee has eyes on Korea’s biggest prize
Sanghee Lee added a second-round three-under-par 68 to his opening 69 to take the halfway lead today in the Kolon Korea Open at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
The Korean is five under for the prestigious event, one ahead of his countrymen Taehee Lee (66) and Taehoon Ok (69) and American Jarin Todd (69)
Sanghee Lee has won four times in Korea but admitted that his national Open is the one that he really wants to win the most.
“I have claimed the NH Open, KPGA Championship, SK Telecom Open, and GS Caltex Maekyung Open but the Korea Open is the big one we all want to win,” said Sanghee Lee.
“I have challenged every year, but the results were disappointing. Thinking about it, I felt a lot of pressure. I felt a strain on myself, it didn’t work. On my day off from the army, I often watched Korean tour events and had a strong desire to get back playing again.”
He made birdie on the par-five 18th to take the outright lead to set up one of the most important weekends of his career.
He added: “Today, I did well despite difficult pin positions. My tee shots were accurate and my second shots were also very good but the putting wasn’t as good as yesterday. It was a bummer. I’m sad, but I’ll prepare well for the remaining two days and get a good result. It’s going to be fun.”
Taehoon Ok of Korea
Taehoon Ok took advantage of his early tee time to ease his way into contention.
“I’m surprised to be in the lead,” he said after his round. “I made a double bogey on the fourth hole and bounced back with a birdie on the fifth. The positions of the pins today were tricky.”
Todd looked set to also finish the day on five under but found water on the last and made bogey.
“It’s always tricky out here,” said the American.
“It got a little bit tricky on the back nine. It’s always hard here. I putted pretty good today, was missing on the right spots so I had the chance to get up and down. Bad luck there on the last with the lie and the wind gust but overall, a good day.
“The season has been good so far. I’m starting to get back into the flow. I didn’t play at all during the COVID break so it’s nice playing some of the bigger events now. There’s still a long track to go from here, two more days. A win here will be really fun, especially with The Open spot on offer this week. I came close to getting it in Singapore, finished top-five there. It was disappointing. I’d actually rather take The Open spot than the win this week! Just because it’s going to be at the old course at St Andrews and it’s on every golfer’s bucket list.”
Jarin Todd of the United States
Koreans Junghwan Lee (71), Kyongjun Moon (70), Doyeon Hwang (68), and Hyungjoon Lee (68) are three under in a tie for fifth.
Korean Bio Kim, lying second in the Order of Merit, was able to improve on his opening 72 with a 69. He is one under for the tournament and in contention despite an unfortunate bogey on his last hole – the unforgiving ninth – which meant he had to settle for a share of 10th place overall.
Taehoon Ok took advantage of his early tee time to ease his way into the lead at the Kolon Korea Open at Woo Jeong Hills on Friday morning, posting a score of 69 to move to -4, ahead of compatriots Kyongju Moon and overnight leader Junghwan Lee.
Ok opened his scoring in the KRW1.35 billion event with a birdie on hole 10, making the turn on two under after dropping one shot, but ran into difficulties on the way in, dropping one shot on the second hole, and two shots shortly after, but three birdies rescued his score somewhat, leaving him conscious of his good fortune.
“I’m surprised to be in the lead,” he said after his round. “I made a double bogey on the 4th hole and bounced back with a birdie on the 5th. The second shot on the 9th hole was amazing. I made good use of my opportunity,” he added.
“I will continue to practise fade shots,” he noted, “the positions of the pins today were tricky.”
Junghwan Lee, solid start maintains his challenge on the lead. Photo provided by Kolon Korea Open.
Junghwan Lee, who held a share of the lead overnight, made a solid start to his round from the 10th hole, birdieing two holes on his front nine to make the turn in two under par. He continued in good form with pars towards the last, but two bogeys in his last three holes dropped him back to level par for the day and he remained on three under.
Kyongjun Moon began the day one shot behind the leaders and briefly held the lead after the turn, but he too fell foul of holes 7 and 9, dropping a shot on each to finish the day on one under par, and a share of second place.
Bio Kim, lying second in the Order of Merit, was able to improve on his opening position with a two under par 69. Although an improvement on his overnight position in a share of 29th place, an unfortunate bogey on his last hole – the unforgiving ninth – meant he had to settle for a share of 9th place overall.
Bio Kim, moving up the leaderboard. Photo provided by Kolon Korea Open.
Chang Wei-run of Chinese Taipei, who started the day one shot behind the leaders on two under, was going along in fine fashion on his front nine, having gained three shots against par before he too fell victim to the ninth hole, posting a double bogey and then compounding the misfortune with three dropped shots on the back nine, putting him back in a group in 14th place on level par.
Also in the group are Argentina’s Miguel Angel Carballo, who moved up with a largely blemish-free 68, and Dongkyu Hang, who posted the same score. Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh, and the Korean pair of Jaemin Hwang and Seonghyeon Jeon also finished in 14th after the morning session, overnight leader Hwang dropping three shots against the card in his round.
Seungsu Han of the United States set the early pace in the 64th edition of the Kolon Korea Open on Thursday, posting a flawless three-under-par 68 in the morning which was later matched by Korea’s Junghwan Lee and Jaemin Hwang at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
A moderate breeze offered few favours in the morning and with rainy conditions during the afternoon and the threat of thunderstorms, the early field gained a slight advantage in the KRW1.35 billion event, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korea Golf Association.
Lee, a two-time winner on the Korean circuit, also stayed blemish-free while Hwang capped a strong finish with three birdies in his closing six holes. Together with Han, they hold a one-shot lead over a host of players following the opening round of the Kolon Korea Open.
Junghwan Lee, back on track and feeling good about his round. Photo provided by Kolon Korean Open.
Lee was glad to rediscover his best form, something he has been trying to do since completing his National Service. “I stayed bogey-free on a difficult course,” he said. “I feel good because I got a good result even though the weather was bad.”
“I haven’t played well after coming out from the army but my game is been more stable since I got married last year. I live in Gwangju and I drive about two hours to the course here every day. Nice to get off to a good start. I will stay calm and see how it goes the next few days.”
The Woo Jeong Hills course has lived up to its reputation as one of South Korea’s toughest tracks, but it was something that 35-year-old Seungsu Han was ready for. “There were some tough pins. I played good, hit a lot of good shots, and stayed in the right spots all day,” he said. “I think this is my fourth time playing this tournament, so I am more familiar with it now. I know how they are going to set it up, so I don’t panic about it.”
“You just have to keep on hitting good shots, and leave yourself in the right positions here, especially with the pins that they are going to put on the greens. You have to be super patient. I hit the ball really well today, I kept it in play off the tee, hit a lot of greens and was also on the right side of the hole for the most part. When you do that you get some birdie looks.”
“It was good to get a round in before the rain, I got super lucky,” he added after the morning session at an event which is making a welcome return to the Asian Tour schedule after its reinstatement in 2018 was again halted by Covid-19 related travel restrictions.
Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong relied on his scrambling skills to maintain pace with the leader. Photo provided by Kolon Korea Open.
Nitithorn Thippong, winner of the DGC Open, opened with a birdie on 10th but dropped a shot on 13 before picking up back-to-back birdies to turn in 33. He dropped another shot on the first but recovered with a birdie on the sixth to settle for a share of fourth place.
Putting and scrambling was the key to maintain momentum for the 25-year-old Thai golfer, who is still looking to capitalize on his first Asian Tour win after breaking through in India in March.
“I made a lot of long par putts today which was nice. The par on the 8th coming in was great. I thought I drove the ball out of bounds so I hit a provisional, but found it in the left rough and chipped it out to the fairway. Then I hit into the bunker, blasted it out, and made the putt from about 21 feet. That’s probably the highlight today,” he said.
Experience was also essential on a course that has a reputation for being one of the hardest in South Korea. “This is my second time playing here. I first played here in 2019 and I think that experience helped. The pins are always tough in Korea. I hit a great chip on the ninth to about two feet and made it for par too,” said Thippong.
“I have been feeling confident with my game since getting my first win in India. I had some issues with my new driver in England two weeks ago, so I went home and did another round of fitting. I’ve changed the shaft now and it’s working well again,” he explained.
“I drove the ball nicely today and that gave me a lot of opportunities to score. You have got to drive the ball well out there as the fairways are narrow,” he concluded.
Jarin Todd of the USA recovered from early bogey to finish under par. Photo provided by Kolon Korea Open.
Jarin Todd of the USA, who finished ninth in the recent International Series England, played a patient round to join the group on second, shrugging off an early bogey to pick up three shots and finish on two-under-par. He was joined by Soonsang Hong, who diced with birdies and bogeys throughout his round, and Sanghee Lee, who looked set to post even-par with a birdie and bogey before finishing with an eagle flourish on the par five ninth.
Chang Wei-lun of Chinese Taipei had brief flirtation with the lead after his first nine holes, making the turn at two-under-par and posting another birdie on his tenth hole. But two holes later, he dropped a shot and slipped back to the group in fourth place. Taehoon Ok shared a similar fate, staying in the leading group until two holes from the end when he too slipped back.
Taeyang Jung was the early clubhouse leader with a score of one-under-par 70. After a steady run at the start, he made the turn at even par despite a birdie/bogey pair to finish his front nine, but a second dropped shot pushed him back above par on the third hole, his 12th of the day. A burst of three birdies brought him back into the red, although a disappointing bogey on the last hole dropped him back into eventual 11th place.
As the afternoon session drew to a close, Jung was joined by fellow-Koreans Byungjun Kim, who overcame a difficult front nine with two double bogeys to finish on one-under-par 70; Jeongwoo Ham who dropped two shots against three birdies, and Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines, who looked destined for the lead for most of his round until a double bogey brought him up short three holes from the finish. Heungchol Joo completed a group of five in eleventh place.
Jeongmin Park, Doyeon Hwang, Mingyu Cho and Jaekyeong Lee, together with Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, led a strong group on an even par score of 71. Hwang, who was in the first group away this morning, produced an eagle on the par 5 fifth hole to set an early lead, but quickly dropped two shots in quick succession, and three more bogeys on the second nine saw him fall back to join the others on even par.
They were joined by Mingkyu Cho, Hanbyeoul Kim and Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut, who endured a torrid run of three bogeys in succession on his back nine but recovered two shots in the final holes to get his score back on track. Hyungjoon Lee, Junggon Hwang and Hongtaek Kim completed the group of morning starters to finish on par with a score of 71.
Asian Tour regulars Siddikur Raymond of Bangladesh and Todd Baek of the USA rounded out the group in 16th place on even par, in an event that has been dominated by Korean golfers in recent decades, with only Jazz Janewattananond winning in 2019 and before that, Rickie Fowler of the USA in 2011.
Defending champion Junseok Lee of Australia and Korea’s Bio Kim, placed second on the Order of Merit, returned with identical 72s while Merit leader Sihwan Kim of the United States was left to rue a disappointing 75.
Kolon Korea Open tees off tomorrow at famously tough venue
By Olle Nordberg, Contributing Editor – Asian Tour
Thai star Jazz Janewattananond famously won the Kolon Korea Open in 2019, during his four-victory season when he topped the Asian Tour Order of Merit, but apart from that, Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, the event’s regular home since 2003, has been a notoriously difficult nut to crack for the best non-Koreans on the Asian Tour.
In the two editions of the Kolon Korea Open since the Asian Tour started co-sanctioning the event again in 2018, after a hiatus since 2008 and a two-year break during COVID, only six non-Korean born players have finished in the top 10, and nine inside the top 20.
One of these players is Thailand’s Prom Meesawat – a proven winner in Korea having claimed the SK Telecom Open at Sky 72 in Incheon back in 2006. He finished tied 10th at Woo Jeong Hills in 2019, and feels he knows why playing in Korea is more difficult than other countries.
The 18th hole at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club
“For myself, to play well in Korea, you have to be, especially at Woo Jeong Hills, very patient on the golf course,” said Prom.
“There are a lot of tough holes on the back nine. When the greens are getting firm and when it’s windy, the course plays hard compared to other course where we play tournaments in Korea. So that’s the key for me, to be patient when playing in Korea. If you make a mistake, you have to miss in the right spot.”
While the Shinhan Donghae Open, one of Korea’s other flagship events, has seen foreign winners such as Gaganjeet Bhullar (2016), Richard T. Lee (2017) and Jbe Krueger (2019), other than Jazz winning in 2019, you have to go all the way back to 2011 to find Rickie Fowler as a non-Korean winner. Is there something that makes this course more difficult to win on than others?
Said Prom: “Yeah, I think Woo Jeong Hills doesn’t really compare to other courses we play on in Korea. Like when we played the Ballantine’s Championship for example it was always cold, rainy and windy. But in normal conditions, Woo Jeong Hills is, I think, the toughest course.
“In my opinion, I think there’s many holes where you can get in trouble. Like on number nine, you have to drive it really well. And then number eleven, when we played in the early years at Woo Jeong Hills, we actually played it as a par five. The last couple years we played that hole as a par four, which makes it a lot more difficult.
The 13th hole at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club
“The par threes on the back nine, 13 and 16, are difficult, and number 16, 17 and 18 are all tough finishing holes. There are a lot of holes that if you hit one bad shot you can get in big trouble. Yeah, there’s a lot more trouble than on the other courses.
“For example, at Nam Seoul where we play the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, if you stay below the hole on approach shots you are fine. That course plays a bit shorter, but if you miss on the high side or the wrong side, you can still get in trouble.
“But I think Woo Jeong Hills is like everywhere, if you miss a tee shot or if you miss the green, you still need to miss in a good spot. And the course plays longer than Nam Seoul.”
The two-time Asian Tour winner has his strategy mapped out for this week and what the key to his success at the Kolon Korea Open should be.
CHACHOENGSAO -THAILAND – Prom Meesawat of Thailand pictured on Friday November 8, 2019 during round two of the Thailand Open at the Thai Country Club, Chachoengsao, Thailand. The USD$ 300.000 event is an Asian Tour event, November 7-10, 2019. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He adds: “For me, just hit the tee shots into a good position, and then try to make birdie on the easy holes like hole number one, two, five, six, and eight. On the front nine we can make birdies, but then the back nine everyone knows it’s tough. Try to score on the front nine if it’s possible, then just play more defensive on the back nine. It depends on the green conditions as well. If they are firm, it’s gonna be very, very tough I think.”
The 37-year-old Thai has a good memory from his last visit to Woo Jeong Hills in 2019 and is feeling good about his game heading into the championship, which starts tomorrow.
“The putt I holed on the 18th on Sunday was a really long putt, the pin was in the back left and I was in the right centre about 30 feet away from the hole. When I holed the putt there, that was a good finish and it was on television as well,” he said.
“My game right now, I have more confidence in my tee shots, and when I played at Slaley Hall a few weeks ago I was driving it pretty well. With my putting I have a good feeling, more comfortable with my stroke. When you hole more putts, you get more confident. I think I just need to stay in my process and just work to try to improve every part of my game.”
Ends.
Phachara Khongwatmai will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of fellow-Thai Jazz Janewattananond when he tees-off in the 64th edition of the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship on Thursday.
It was three years ago to the week that Jazz triumphed at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club – the last time the tournament was staged on the Asian Tour. Jazz went on to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit that season.
Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand – Winner of the 2019 Kolon Korea Open
With three top-six finishes to his name already this campaign, Phachara is now looking to add a second Asian Tour title to his resume, having made his breakthrough at the Laguna Phuket Championship late last year.
Were he to do so at Woo Jeong Hills, where he tied for 31st in 2019, not only would Phachara consolidate his place in the top-five of the current Merit list, but also raise his hopes of emulating the feats of Jazz in topping the season-end standings.
An added incentive for Phachara and all those in the starting line-up is that the Kolon Korea Open is once again part of The Open Qualifying Series. As such the leading two players not already exempt who finish in the top-10 will earn spots in next month’s 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
ST ALBANS, ENGLAND – JUNE 10: Phachara Khongwatmai of Crushers GC lines up a putt on the third green during day two of the LIV Golf Invitational – London at The Centurion Club on June 10, 2022 in St Albans, England. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/LIV Golf/Getty Images)
Among Phachara’s main challengers at Woo Jeong Hills in the event that is co-sanctioned with the Korea Golf Association are Sihwan Kim and Bio Kim, the leading two players in the latest Order of Merit.
Sihwan Kim has already won twice this year while Bio Kim secured his belated maiden Asian Tour success at Nam Seoul Country Club last month in the 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open.
A second triumph on the Asian Tour in what is the 10th leg of the 2022 season will be especially poignant for Bio Kim, who announced his arrival on the big stage at the Kolon Korea Open in 2010. It will also mark his third triumph on home soil this year as he won the SK Telecom Open earlier this month.
Bio Kim of Korea
Then aged 20 and in his first year as a professional, Bio Kim was hailed as the great new Korean hope after finishing joint second, two strokes behind compatriot YE Yang, who just months earlier had been crowned as Asia’s first Major winner following his defeat of Tiger Woods at the 2009 PGA Championship.
Yang is one of five Major champions to have had his name inscribed on the Korea Open trophy since the event’s inauguration in 1958, alongside Americans Orville Moody and John Daly, Fijian Vijay Singh and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
Other notable winners include Americans Rickie Fowler and Scott Hoch, while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was runner-up in 2011 and 2013.
Due to Covid-19 related travel restrictions for foreigners, last year’s Kolon Korean Open were played as domestic event on the Korean PGA Tour, with Junseok Lee victorious. The tournament was cancelled in 2020. Lee, who won on the local circuit l will be brimming with confidence when he returns to defend his title this week.
Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Tour, said: “The Korea Open is one of our mainstay events and always a high point of the year.
“With the 64th Korea Open back on the schedule it shows the Asian Tour is returning to full speed and, along with the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, means our membership are able to return to one of their favourite tournament destinations.”
Title-sponsored by Mandiri, the Indonesia Open will return to the Asian Tour schedule in 2022.
Following a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 40th edition of the national Open championship of Indonesia will be staged at Jakarta’s Pondok Indah Golf Course from August 4-7.
With a prize purse of US$500,000 the Mandiri Indonesia Open will be the 11th leg of the 2022-23 season and will immediately precede Tour stops in Singapore and Korea.
Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO, Asian Tour, said: “The National Open Championships of countries around the region are such an integral part of Asia’s golfing history. We’re delighted, therefore, to be able to welcome back the Indonesia Open to the Asian Tour schedule this year and we are extremely grateful to Mandiri for their support.”
Dating back to 1974, the Indonesia Open has a proud and rich heritage. Its roll of honour includes late, great American Payne Stewart (1981) and fellow Major champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland (2014).
Other international golfers who have savoured success in the championship include New Zealander Frank Nobilo, Australian Craig Parry and South African Justin Harding.
When the Indonesia Open was last staged in 2019, victory went to Argentinean Miguel Angel Carballo with Korean Yikeun Chang claiming runners-up spot at Pondok Indah.
Miguel Carballo of Argentina won the Indonesia Open in 2019.
Among the famous Asian players to have had their names inscribed on the trophy are Frankie Minoza of the Philippines, Thais Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, Chinese Taipei’s Lu Hsi-chuen and Lu Chien-soon, and Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar, victorious in 2013 and 2016.
Kasiadi is the only Indonesian golfer to have lifted the trophy, his triumph coming in 1989.
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr and opened in 1976, Pondok Indah has been rated as one of the Indonesia’s leading golfing establishments for more than 40 years, hosting numerous professional events, including the World Cup of Golf in 1983.
Headquartered in Jakarta, Mandiri is the largest bank in Indonesia in terms of assets, loans and deposits and offers businesses and individuals throughout Indonesia a full set of banking and non-banking products and services.
Murdaya Po, President of the Indonesian Golf Association added: “We are truly thankful to Mandiri for its support. It promises to be a memorable week at Pondok Indah that will help signify the return of international tournament golf to our country.”
More updates for the 2022/23 schedule to follow in the coming weeks.
Asian Tour regular Todd Sinnott will enjoy a two-for-one deal at the US Open this week as not only will he be making his debut in a Major, but it will also be the first time he has competed in a professional event in the US writes Olle Nordberg, Contributing Editor – Asian Tour.
“Yeah, I’m excited, it should be pretty cool,” said Sinnott, who qualified for the year’s third Major thanks to clinching the final spot in a grueling one-day 36-hole qualifier in Chiba, Japan, in three man sudden-death play-off for one place.
“It’s my first pro event in America as well, so it will be cool to see the crowds and just the way they set up a U.S. Open. It’s always been one of my favorite tournaments to watch, so it will be nice to play in it.
“I think you just got to drive it well, and kind of map out the greens and where you want to leave your second shots because I think the greens get pretty firm and fast, which is nothing we’re not accustomed to back home in Australia.”
The 122nd US Open Championship tees-off Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts – the historic club founded in 1882 which is one of the oldest clubs in America. It is also one of the charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association in 1894, and the host venue for three U.S. Opens, six U.S. Amateurs and one Ryder Cup.
Sinnott is relishing the prospect of teeing it up alongside the best players in the world in a championship that usually has the most demanding set-ups of all the majors.
Asked if he had studied the course or done any special preparations for the championship Sinnott said: “We’ve done a little bit, my caddie Scott and me. We’ve tried to watch Matt Fitzpatrick’s highlights from the U.S. Amateur there in 2013. But yeah, there’s not much on the course, I can’t get a course guide or anything off the internet.”
After enduring a back injury a few years ago the 30 year old is back in form this season: he won the TPS Victoria Hosted by Geoff Ogilvy on the PGA Tour Australasia in February and has posted solid results on the Asian Tour.
YANGON, MYANMAR – JANUARY 29: Todd Sinnott of Australia pictured with the winner’s trophy after round four of the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open at Pun Hlaing Golf Club on January 29, 2017 in Yangon, Myanmar. (Photo by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour/Asian Tour via Getty Images)
“Yeah, I’m kind of having a lot of top 20s, and I won earlier this year in Australia. But I haven’t been able to be really in contention in Asia this year. The game is pretty solid, it’s just a matter of going from 15th to in contention,” said the Australian, who has won once before on the Asian Tour at the 2017 Myanmar Open – an event jointly sanctioned with Japan.
About the injury he added: “I missed all of 2019 and the back half of 2018. I had a stress fracture in my back. It was my lower thoracic vertebrae on the left side, I couldn’t move. That was a pretty grim, dark time. It’s all good now, I played all of last year in Japan and the back held up really well.”
Sinnott is feeling good about his game after finishing tied 20th at the International Series England in Newcastle two weeks ago and has spent the last week in the US preparing.
He added: “It’s just a matter of going there and getting the job done, I’m playing well. We flew to New York on Monday after Newcastle and played a couple golf courses like Baltusrol and Shinnecock Hills. One of my mates met me there and we played some golf, we’re pretty lucky to get on those courses.”
Sinnott tees off at 2.31pm US EST time with Swede Jonas Blixt and American Bo Hoag.
Last year’s Asian Tour number one Joohyung Kim from Korea starts at 1:25 PM with Ireland’s Seamus Power and Min Woo Lee from Australia.
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