'21-year-old Young Gun' Kim Min-gyu "I am the National Title Champ"... Jo Min-gyu 'Overtime Defeat' (Summary)

First Victory at Korea Open with 450 Million Won Jackpot and The Open Ticket Secured, Lee Hyung-jun and Todd Tied for 3rd, Defending Champion Lee Jun-seok 5th

Kim Min-gyu is smiling brightly while holding the trophy right after winning the Korea Open. Photo by Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kim Min-gyu (21) has claimed the ‘national title’.

On the 26th, at the final day of the Kolon Korean Open (total prize money 1.35 billion KRW) held at Chungnam Cheonan Woojeong Hills Golf Club (par 71, 7,326 yards), he added 2 under par to tie with Cho Min-gyu (34) at 4 under par 280. Then, in the ‘3-hole playoff’ resumed from holes 16 to 18, he won by one stroke. Having debuted on the Korean Tour last year, he reached the top for the first time in 37 tournaments and received a winner’s prize of 450 million KRW. In addition, he secured a ticket to next month’s final major of the PGA Tour, The Open Championship.

Kim Min-gyu was a promising player selected as the youngest ever national representative in 2015. At just 16 years old in 2017, he won twice on the European EuroPro (3rd tier) Tour. In 2018, he was immediately promoted to the Challenge (2nd tier) Tour and set the youngest winner record at the Czech Challenge (17 years and 64 days). In 2020, due to the impact of COVID-19, he appeared on the domestic stage and made headlines again with back-to-back runner-up finishes at the KPGA Gunsan CC Open and KPGA Open in July.

At that time, he ranked 22nd in the prize money rankings and secured a Korean Tour ticket for the 2021 season. Last year, including a runner-up finish at the Hana Bank Invitational, he placed in the ‘top 10’ three times and maintained his seed by ranking 25th in prize money. This year, before this tournament, he participated in eight events and impressively finished in the ‘top 5’ four times. After tying for 2nd at the Woori Financial Championship last month and tying for 3rd at the SK Telecom Open on the 5th, he finally collected the winner’s trophy. He is currently first in both prize money and the Player of the Year standings.

Kim Min-gyu became the first domestic player to win the Korean Open in four years since Choi Min-cheol (34) in 2018. Jazz Janewattananond (Thailand) won in 2019, and last year, Korean-Australian Lee Jun-seok took the title. The tournament was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19. Kim Min-gyu made par on the 16th hole (par 3) but bogeyed the 17th hole (par 4), trailing Cho Min-gyu by one stroke before the final 18th hole (par 5), making his chances look slim.

Jomin Kyu is making an iron shot on the 5th hole on the final day of the Korea Open. Photo by Kolon Korea Open Organizing Committee

However, fortune favored him. On the 18th hole, his tee shot pushed to the right and faced an out-of-bounds (OB) threat, but it hit a tree and landed beside the cart path, a lucky break. After his second shot reached near the green, he executed a delicate approach and sank a 2-meter birdie putt to overturn the match. Cho Min-gyu could have extended the playoff by making par on the 18th hole but bogeyed and shed tears. He was satisfied with the Open Championship entry ticket awarded to the runner-up.

"I was very nervous," said Kim Min-gyu, "It feels like a dream. I’m so happy to have won." He added, "On the 18th hole, my tee shot hit a tree and came back. I will play confidently at The Open, the stage of my dreams." Lee Hyung-jun (30) and Jarin Todd (USA) tied for 3rd place (3 under par 281). Defending champion Lee Jun-seok was once tied for the lead but finished 5th (2 under par 282) in the tournament.