Kim Min-gyu Leads for Second Day "First Victory Signal~"... Moon Do-yeop in 2nd Place 'Chasing Battle'

Hana Bank Invitational Day 2: 3 Under Par, Moon Do-yeop Scores 7 Under Par Daily Best, Lee Jae-kyung Ties for 3rd Place

Kim Min-gyu is teeing off on the 10th hole on the first day of the second day of the Hana Bank Invitational. Photo by KPGA

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "The first Korean Tour victory is in sight."

‘20-year-old young gun’ Kim Min-gyu (CJ Logistics) added a 3-under-par on the second day of the Hana Bank Invitational (total prize money 1 billion KRW) held on the 22nd at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon (par 71, 7,208 yards), taking the lead for the second day with 11-under-par 131 strokes. ‘Opening champion’ Moon Do-yeop (30, DB Insurance) is in second place (10-under-par 132 strokes), and ‘Genesis champion’ Lee Jae-kyung (22, CJ O Shopping) is chasing in a tie for third place (9-under-par 133 strokes).

Kim Min-gyu is a next-generation prospect who won two titles on the European EuroPro (3rd tier) Tour at the young age of just 16 in 2017. In 2018, he was immediately promoted to the Challenge (2nd tier) Tour and set the youngest winning record (17 years and 64 days) at the Czech Challenge. Due to the impact of COVID-19 last year, he appeared on the domestic stage, receiving the spotlight with back-to-back runner-up finishes at the KPGA Gunsan CC Open and KPGA Open in July, ranking 22nd in the prize money rankings and finally securing his ticket for the 2021 season.

It is interesting that Kim Min-gyu recently played with world stars at the PGA Tour’s The CJ Cup in the United States. He succeeded in taking the lead with 8-under-par on the first day, and on this day, he recorded 6 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey. Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), he remained steady with a birdie at the 11th hole (par 4) and a bogey at the 14th hole (par 3), then gained momentum with consecutive birdies at the 1st and 2nd holes on the back nine. The birdie at the 4th hole (par 4) and double bogey at the 7th hole (par 3) were recovered by consecutive birdies at the 8th and 9th holes near the end.

Mundo-yeop is looking at the ball right after the tee shot on the 1st hole on the second day of the Hana Bank Invitational. Photo by KPGA

Moon Do-yeop rose to second place in one fell swoop with a 7-under-par daily best. His 7 birdies and 88.89% greens in regulation showed his ‘piercing iron shots’ were on fire. It is surprising that he has not finished in the ‘top 10’ even once in 13 tournaments since winning the DB Insurance Promy Open in April. He said, "I was too eager," and added, "Today, my green play was especially perfect," showing his fighting spirit. Defending champion Seo Yo-seop (25, DB Insurance) and ‘Order of Merit leader’ Park Sang-hyun (38, Dong-A Pharmaceutical) remained tied for 35th place (2-under-par 140 strokes).