Hong Soon-sang Enjoys First KPGA Career Win

Hong Soon-sang (26, SK Telecom) has emerged as a new star on the field after he beat Kim Kyung-tae (21, Shinhan Bank), nicknamed “the monster rookie,” who was seeking to reap his third win in a row.

In the final fourth round of the XCanvas Open of the KPGA Tour held on May 20 at Lakeside Country Club in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, Hong had three birdies and two bogeys leading to a 1 under-par and 71 stroke score for the day. His overall score for the tournament resulted in a 10 under-par and 278 strokes, four ahead that of Kim Kyung-tae (6 under 282).

In his first career win ever since his debut last year, he earned 80 million won and leaped into second place on the money list with 95.765 million won. Hong is a reserve sergeant of the ROK Marine Corps. Following his father’s advice in 2003, he enrolled in the corps and as a result had no chance to grab a club for about a year while he was undergoing arduous training in amphibious tanks. The next year, he was transferred to Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, where he was able to play golf, though only for an hour at a time. Despite the lack of time, he managed to win a seed for the professional tour and made his debut in March as soon as he was discharged.

Boasting a height of 182 centimeters and an attractive look, he won the Best Dresser Prize in the KPGA Tour award ceremony last year.

In the 18th hole of the Jungheung Open last year, Hong missed his first chance to win after failing a 50cm par putt. He said, “I thought that I wasn’t fated to win trophies. This is the best moment of my life. I want to be recognized for my competence, not my looks.”

Starting the round with a five-stroke gap with the runner-up, Hong reduced his score by two strokes in the first half. At the 10th hole, although his driver shot went out of bounds, by using an accurate iron shot, he managed to keep his loss to a single stroke. He shot another bogey at 14, but the damage was too small to thwart him.

Meanwhile Kim Kyung-tae started the round six shots behind Hong after he failed to close the gap the day before. He had birdies in three straight holes from nos. 14 to 16, but it was already too late to catch up with Hong. As the runner-up, Kim received 40 million won in prize money, which solidified his lead on the money list. After only three tournaments played, he has already made 220 million won.

kjs0123@donga.com