Baek Seok-hyun, who came out of obscurity with a surprise victory at the SK Telecom Open 2023, will attempt to win for the second week in a row.
Baek will compete in the KB Financial Live Championship (KRW 700 million in prize money and KRW 140 million in winner’s share) on the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour at the Blackstone Golf Club North and West Course (Par 72) in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, starting on Sept. 25.
Baek, who has been playing golf in Thailand since he was a junior high school student and mainly played on the Asian Professional Golf Tour, will be entering his third year on the Korean Tour, but he has struggled to adapt to the Korean grass and hasn’t had much success. Last week, however, he won the SK Telecom Open at Finks GC in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, in a wire-to-wire victory. The bentgrass at Finks GC was favorable for him, and he was able to take advantage of the familiarity of the grass to reach the top. Blackstone GC, home of the KB Financial Livechampionship, also has fescue in the fairways. It’s a little different because it’s Kentucky blue instead of bentgrass, but it’s similar in that it’s mowed short so there’s not much grass between the ball and club, allowing for delicate play.
“I will try to do well at Blackstone GC as it is also a sheep grass,” said Baek Seok-hyun, who did not hide his desire to win for the second week in a row, but revealed a bigger goal: “I want to achieve more than just one win, but two or three.”메이저놀이터
Chung Chan-min, who won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, will try to win the Genesis Grand Prize and the top prize money. After winning the Maekyung Open, Chung took the lead in both the grand prize and prize money at the Woori Financial Championship. Despite missing the cut at the SK Telecom Open, he leads with 1,548 Grand Prize points and 349.92 million won in prize money. However, he is in danger of losing the top spot at any time depending on the results of the KB Financial Live Championship, so he needs to be strong. There are only 378.5 points separating first place from 10th place Lee Jae-kyung. The winner of this tournament will receive 1,000 Grand Prize points and a two-year tour seeding.