'19-year-old Young Gun' Kim Joo-hyung Rises to 3rd Place "Marching Toward Major Victory~"... Byeon Jin-jae Leads

Korean Open Day 2: 4-Under Surge, Byeon Jin-jae and Lee Jun-seok One Stroke Behind Co-Leaders, Park Sang-hyun Tied 4th

Kim Juhyung is hitting an iron shot on the 10th hole on the second day of the Korean Open. Photo by Korean Open Organizing Committee

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "This time, a major."

The '19-year-old young gun' Kim Joo-hyung (CJ Logistics) is gaining momentum in his 'hunt for a second win.' On the 25th, at the Chungnam Cheonan Woojeong Hills Golf Club (par 71, 7,328 yards), during the second day of the Kolon 63rd Korean Open (total prize money 1.3 billion KRW), he added 4 under par to leap to 3rd place (6 under par, 136 strokes). He is just one stroke behind the co-leaders (7 under par, 135 strokes), including Byun Jin-jae (32) and Lee Jun-seok (Australia), making the competition for the championship very close. Park Sang-hyun (38, Dong-A Pharmaceutical) and Lee Tae-hee (37) are chasing from joint 4th place (5 under par, 137 strokes).

Kim Joo-hyung started in 8th place, 3 strokes behind, and swept up 4 birdies. Having won the SK Telecom Open on the 13th, he currently leads the prize money ranking (474.8 million KRW), as well as the points for the Player of the Year (2,942.06 points) and the lowest average score (68.84 strokes). He is also awaiting a remarkable record as the second teenage champion in the history of this tournament since Kim Dae-seop in 1998. Expressing confidence, he said, "My shot feel is good," and "I'm satisfied that I didn't make any bogeys on this difficult course."

The 'returned real man' Byun Jin-jae recorded 5 birdies and 1 bogey. With rounds of 3 under par and 4 under par, he is on a two-day winning streak. He added, "Military service became a turning point in my golf career," and "I became more desperate for golf." First-day leader Choi Min-cheol (33) struggled with 4 over par and dropped to joint 14th place (1 under par, 141 strokes), and amateur national representative Kim Baek-joon (20) also lost 5 strokes, falling to joint 20th place (even par, 142 strokes). The 'number 2' Hur In-hoe (34) was cut off.