Guntaek Koh, who starts the defence of his Shinhan Donghae Open title tomorrow and is one of Korea’s hottest golfers at the moment, says he feels he has a lot more success to come and has not yet reached the peak of his powers.

The Korean star [main picture, winning last year] claimed the KPGA Founders Cup with Hanmac CC in April on the Korean PGA Tour to go with his three wins last year, including the Shinhan Donghae Open – an event tri-sanctioned by the Asian, Korean and Japan Tours, since 2019.

It has been a terrific run of form for the 24-year-old, who has also not missed a cut in six starts on the Asian Tour this season.

“I don’t think it’s my heyday yet,” said Koh.

“I’m just trying to improve every day, every year, and I’m trying to work hard on my weaknesses.”

It’s difficult to see any cracks in his game at the moment. When he won here last year at Ocean Course at Club72, Incheon, he birdied the par-five 18th to catch Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai on the 72^nd  hole, after hitting a brilliant third shot to three feet, and he then proceeded to make four again in the play-off, holing a 10-footer.

Guntaek Koh closing in on his win last year. Picture supplied by the Korean PGA Tour.

“It is an honour to be the defending champion this week in a prestigious event like the Shinhan Donghae Open. As I come out as the defending champion, I want to focus and defend the title. I’ve been practicing a lot for this week, so I think it’s possible,” he added.

“It was a great season last year because I won three times. I remember winning the Shinhan Donghae Open because it was very tough, and I was so happy to win.

“It is a windy course. To perform well, you have to calculate the wind. The same hole can have a different level of difficulty each time you play it depending on the location of the pin. Sometimes you have to play safely and sometimes you have to attack.”

Koh also finished runner up in the Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour in late May, earning him a ticket to The Open at Royal Troon. Success overseas is very much on his radar.

He said: “I haven’t won on an overseas tour yet, so I want to win overseas in the second half of the year, and I’ll prepare well physically because I have a lot of competitions ahead.”

Since the Shinhan Donghae Open was launched in 1981 only three players have successfully defended the title: Sangmoon Bae, KJ Choi, and Changsang Han. On current form Koh is a strong bet to become the fourth as he attempts to close in on his ‘heyday’.