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 13^th 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 14^th. He is currently in 48^th 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.”