'Korea's No. 1' Kim Juhyung "Victory News from Singapore"..."Asian Tour Prize Money King in Sight"

Singapore International Final Day 2-Under Par "Winning Birdie on First Playoff Hole", Jumps to No.1 on Asian Tour Money Rankings

Kim Juhyung is cheering while holding the trophy immediately after winning the Asian Tour Singapore International.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] It is a dramatic come-from-behind victory for Korea's No. 1, Kim Joo-hyung (20).

On the 16th, at the Tanamera Golf Club in Singapore (par 72, 7,535 yards), the final day of the Asian Tour Singapore International (total prize money $1 million), Kim finished with 2-under par to tie for the lead at 4-under par 284 with Ratanon Wannasrichan (Thailand). Then, on the first hole of the sudden-death playoff at the 18th hole (par 5), he finally sank the winning birdie. This marks his second Asian Tour victory in two years and two months since winning the Panasonic Open at just 17 years old in November 2019. The winner's prize money is $180,000 (approximately 214 million KRW).

Kim Joo-hyung was the youngest triple crown winner in the 2021 Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) season. In July 2000, he set a remarkable record as the youngest champion on the Korean Tour at the KPGA Gunsan CC Open (18 years and 21 days old). Last year, after competing in 14 tournaments including winning the SK Telecom Open in June and finishing runner-up three times, he topped the money list (754.94 million KRW), won the Player of the Year award (5,540.56 points), and achieved the lowest scoring average (69.16), completing the 'Triple Crown.'

Starting the day two strokes behind in second place, Kim recorded five birdies and three bogeys. Although a bogey on the 5th hole (par 5) was disappointing, he launched a serious challenge for the lead with three consecutive birdies from the 7th to 9th holes. In the back nine, after exchanging a bogey on the 10th hole (par 5) for a birdie on the 11th hole (par 4), he energized himself with a birdie on the 14th hole (par 3). On the 17th hole (par 4), his second shot went into a penalty area, but interestingly, after a one-stroke penalty, he managed a '4-on 1-putt' bogey to limit the damage. He also secured a crucial par save on the 18th hole.

It is noteworthy that this victory propelled him to the top of the money rankings with $400,000. He leads second-place Wade Ormsby (Australia, $270,000) by $130,000, effectively securing the 2020/2021 Asian Tour money title. The final event is the SMBC Open (total prize money $1.25 million), continuing on the 20th at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. Korea's Kim Bi-o (32) is in 7th place (3-over par 291), and Moon Do-yeop (31) is tied for 16th place (5-over par 293).