Defending Champion Park Eun-sin Advances to Round of 16... "Going for First Back-to-Back Titles"

Descente Korea Match Play Round 3: Park Sung-guk Defeats Opponent
Lee Jae-kyung, Park Sang-hyun, Ham Jeong-woo, Go Gun-taek Top Group
Kim Min-gyu, Bae Yong-jun, Ok Tae-hoon, Kang Kyung-nam Also Advance to Round of 16

Park Eun-shin has passed the first hurdle for a second consecutive victory.

On the 2nd, Park Eun-shin defeated Park Sung-guk by 3 holes in the third match of the group stage at the 13th Descente Korea Match Play (total prize money 800 million KRW) of the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Korean Tour, held at Kingsdale Golf Club in Chungju, Chungbuk (par 72, 7,323 yards). With a record of 2 wins and 1 draw in the group stage, he advanced to the round of 16. His opponent in the round of 16 is Bae Yoon-ho.

Park Eun-shin is teeing off on the 1st hole of the 3rd match in the group stage of the Descente Korea Match Play.
[Photo by KPGA]

Last year, Park Eun-shin defeated Kim Min-jun in the final after a second sudden-death playoff. Park holds the record for the largest margin of victory in the group stage, having beaten Ahn Baek-jun by 9 holes in the first match of the 2019 group stage. Park is aiming to become the first player in the tournament's history to defend the title.

A total of 64 players participated in this tournament. Similar to the FIFA World Cup, the players were divided into 16 groups for the group stage, with the top player from each group advancing to the round of 16. A win earns 2 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss 0 points. From the round of 16 onward, matches are played in a one-on-one match play format. The winner's prize money is 160 million KRW.

Lee Jae-kyung showed his strength by defeating the 'No. 1 seed' Seo Yo-seop by 2 holes, achieving 3 consecutive wins to top his group. Park Sang-hyun crushed Jeon Sang-hyun by 6 holes and also recorded 3 consecutive wins. Ham Jung-woo defeated Moon Do-yeop by 1 hole to claim first place in his group. Ko Gun-taek also edged out Baek Seok-hyun by 1 hole to secure a ticket to the round of 16. Kim Min-gyu, Bae Yong-jun, Choi Min-cheol, Ok Tae-hoon, Bae Yoon-ho, Jeon Ga-ram, and Kim Tae-ho also joined the round of 16. Kang Kyung-nam, Kwon Sung-yeol, and Shin Yong-gu (Canada) advanced to the round of 16 after sudden-death playoffs.

◆ Descente Korea Match Play Round of 16 Matchups

Lee Jae-kyung vs Ko Gun-taek

Kwon Sung-yeol vs Shin Yong-gu

Kim Min-gyu vs Ok Tae-hoon

Kim Tae-ho vs Kang Kyung-nam

Kang Tae-young vs Choi Min-cheol

Park Eun-shin vs Bae Yoon-ho

Bae Yong-jun vs Ham Jung-woo

Jeon Ga-ram vs Park Sang-hyun