Defending Champion Lee Jaekyung's 2 Consecutive Wins "First 2-Peat in Tournament GO~"

Descente Korea Match Play Group Stage Victory Report
1st Match Hwang Inchun, 2nd Match Yoon Seongho Win by 2 Holes
3rd Match Draw with Jeong Hanmil but Advances as Group 1st to Round of 16

Lee Jae-kyung increased his chances of achieving the first back-to-back victory in the tournament.

Lee Jae-kyung is teeing off at the 9th hole in the second match of the group stage at the Descente Korea Match Play.
[Photo by KPGA]

On the 30th, at Kingsdale Country Club (Par 72) in Chungju, Chungbuk, during the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour Descente Korea Match Play (total prize money 800 million KRW) group stage, he secured his second consecutive win (4 points). In the morning's first match, he defeated Hwang In-chun (1 win, 1 loss) by 2 holes, and in the afternoon's second match, he edged out Yoon Sung-ho (1 win, 1 loss) by 2 holes. Even a draw against Jung Han-mil (2 losses) in the third group stage match will secure his advancement to the round of 16 tournament.

The tournament features 64 players divided into 16 groups of 4 players each, competing in three group stage matches, with the group winner advancing to the round of 16. A win in the group stage awards 2 points, a draw 1 point, and no points for a loss. Defending champion Lee Jae-kyung is challenging the title defense, something no one has succeeded in during the 13 editions held until last year.

Lee Jae-kyung reflected, "Although I was not 100% satisfied with my performance in both matches, since it is match play rather than stroke play, the pressure was less. I was able to play comfortably thinking that even if I made a mistake, I could recover on the next hole." He added, "I must win the last match no matter what. It will not be an easy game. Still, stamina is important, so I will try to finish the match quickly."

Kang Kyung-nam, the inaugural champion of this tournament in 2010, also earned 4 points by consecutively defeating Lee Chang-woo and Han Seung-hoon. Other players with two consecutive wins include Genesis Award points leader Lee Jung-hwan, last year's multiple winner Ko Gun-taek, Heo In-hoe, Kim Bi-o, Moon Do-yeop, Kang Tae-young, Park Tae-wan, Song Min-hyuk, Lee Kyu-min, Byun Jin-jae, Kim Min-hwi, and Kim Young-soo.