Jomin Kyu "Tied for 2nd Place by 2 Strokes"... Defending Champion Lee Jun Seok and Lee Hyung Jun 'Tied for 3rd Place'

‘National Title’ Korean Open Day 3: Exciting 4-Under, Ok Tae-hoon Tied Lead, Lee Jung-hwan Tied 3rd, Lee Tae-hee Tied 7th

Jomin Kyu is smiling brightly while giving an interview after finishing the third day of the Korea Open tied for the lead by 2 strokes. Photo by Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is Jo Min-kyu's (34) first chance to win on the domestic stage.

On the 25th, at Chungnam Cheonan Woojeong Hills Golf Club (par 71, 7,326 yards), during the third day of the 'National Title' Kolon Korean Open (total prize money 1.35 billion KRW), he surged with a 4-under-par round to take the top spot on the leaderboard (5-under-par 208). Ok Tae-hoon (24) joined this group. Defending champion Lee Jun-seok (Australia), Lee Hyung-jun (30), Lee Jung-hwan (31), and Sarit Suwannarut (Thailand) are in a chase battle tied for 3rd place (3-under-par 210).

Starting from a tie for 10th place, 4 strokes behind, Jo Min-kyu recorded six birdies and two bogeys. Although he started shakily with a bogey on the 1st hole (par 4), he reduced two strokes in the front nine with birdies on the 3rd, 6th, and 9th holes. In the back nine, after birdies on the 12th and 14th holes, he steadied himself with a bogey on the 16th hole (par 3), then clinched the lead with a birdie on the final 18th hole (par 5). Jo Min-kyu is a veteran who debuted on the regular tour in 2010. Although he has no domestic wins, he secured two victories at the 2011 Kansai Open and the 2016 Fujisankei Classic.

Last year, he participated in nine Korean Tour events, finishing in the top 10 three times. He placed 3rd at the Bizplay Jeonji Newspaper Open in September and 2nd at the Shinhan Donghae Open. This year, he narrowly missed the title with a runner-up finish at last month's GS Caltex Maekyung Open. On the final day, at the 9th hole (par 5), his ball landed on an unused green fringe, and although his stance was on the green, he was not granted relief and incurred a two-stroke penalty, experiencing some adversity. Leading the tournament tied for first by two strokes, he has a great opportunity for victory.

Ok Tae-hoon is making an iron shot on the 5th hole on the third day of the Korean Open. Photo by Kolon Korean Open Organizing Committee

Ok Tae-hoon added a 1-under-par round to join the race for the championship. He joined the Korean Tour in 2018 and has finished in the top 10 three times, including 3rd place at last month's Munsingwear Match Play. He ranks 10th in this year's prize money standings (203.1 million KRW). Last week's Hana Bank Invitational winner Lee Jun-seok led with a 5-under-par round, laying the foundation for a consecutive win. Lee Tae-hee (38) is tied for 7th place (2-under-par 211), Lee Sang-hee (30) tied for 11th (1-under-par 212), and 'domestic number 1' Kim Bi-o (32) is tied for 25th (2-over-par 215).