Who Were the Longest Hitters on the KPGA and KLPGA Tours Last Year?

Jeong Chan-min, Driver Average 317.11 Yards Ranks 1st
Total 9 Members Join 300-Yard Club... Record High
Women's Division Yoon Ina Leads with 263 Yards

Jeong Chan-min is hitting a driver tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the Korean Professional Golf KPGA Tour Honors K·Solago CC Han Jang-sang Invitational held at Solago CC in Taean, Chungnam, in July last year.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Long drives are a golfer's pride and weapon. Hitting the ball far shortens the strategic battle to reach the green. This is why players focus on improving their skills and physical strength to increase driving distance.

According to the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) on the 4th, nine players on the KPGA Korean Tour last year exceeded an average drive distance of 300 yards. This is the highest number ever recorded, up by two from seven in 2021.

The long drive king is Jeong Chan-min (24). He ranked first overall with an average of 317.11 yards. He is not only good with the driver. Last year, during the first round of the Woosung Construction Open, he hit a second shot with a 2-iron on the 18th hole (par 5) that flew 278 yards, which was voted the second-best moment of the year by golf fans in the KPGA.

Along with Jeong Chan-min, Park Jun-seop (309.24 yards), Kim Min-jun (304.27 yards), Kim Tae-hoon (303.81 yards), Kim Bong-seop (302.71 yards), Kim Hong-taek (301.79 yards), Moon Kyung-jun (300.80 yards), Kim Han-byeol (300.75 yards), and Hwang Do-yeon (300.05 yards) joined the 300-yard club.

Since Kim Tae-hoon (301.07 yards) in 2013, golfers averaging over 300 yards have been rare but have increased significantly in the past 3 to 4 years. In 2019, five players including Seo Yo-seop (303.03 yards) joined, followed by six in 2020, with numbers increasing each year through 2021 and last year.

In the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA), Yoon Yi-na (263.45 yards) ranked first in average driver shot distance last year. Although she participated in only 15 tour events, fewer than her competitors, she recorded a distance in the 260-yard range for the first time in three years since Kim Ah-rim (262.53 yards) in 2019. Additionally, Moon Jeong-min (253.25 yards) and Kwak Bo-mi (250.84 yards) also drove over 250 yards.