Heo Inhoe, Extended Cheers... 'Comeback from 5-Stroke Deficit'

Bizplay and Wonder Club Open 6th Career Win
Jang Yubin Secures 'Winning Birdie' on Second Extra Hole
Kim Youngsoo 3rd, Ok Taehoon and Kim Hanbyeol Tied 4th

Veteran Heo In-hoe staged a 5-shot comeback show.

Heo In-hoe is celebrating after making a birdie on the 13th hole of the 4th round at Bizplay·Wonder Club.
[Photo by KPGA]

On the 30th, at the Incheon Club72CC Sky Course (Par 71, 7,103 yards), in the final round of the KPGA Tour Bizplay·Wonder Club Open (total prize money 700 million KRW), Heo In-hoe fired a 6-under-par to tie with Jang Yu-bin at 17-under-par 267 strokes, then secured the winning birdie on the second hole of the playoff at the 18th hole (par 5). This marked his 6th career victory, his first in 9 months since the iMBank Open last September, with a winner's prize of 140 million KRW.

Starting from a tie for 9th place, 5 shots behind, Heo In-hoe collected 7 birdies and 1 bogey. After a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 5), he immediately recovered with a birdie on the 4th hole (par 3), then made two pairs of consecutive birdies on holes 7-8 and 10-11. Adding two more birdies on the 13th and 17th holes (both par 4), Heo earned a playoff opportunity when the leader Jang Yu-bin missed a short par putt on the 18th hole.

In the first playoff hole, Heo performed a ‘trick shot’ by hitting a driver for his second shot and made a birdie. On the second playoff hole, he placed his third shot close to the hole to secure the victory. Right after winning, Heo exclaimed in an interview, "On the way home, I was wondering what to eat, but then I had to play the playoff. I'm so happy to have won."

Last year's Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist Jang Yu-bin started with a 4-shot lead but finished with only 1-under-par, settling for second place. This season, he has entered 11 tournaments with seven top-10 finishes. Kim Young-soo finished 3rd (15-under-par 269 strokes), Ok Tae-hoon and Kim Han-byul tied for 4th (14-under-par 270 strokes), and Lee Sang-hee finished 6th (13-under-par 271 strokes). Seo Yo-seop, Bae Yong-jun, Choi Seung-bin, Kim Woo-hyun, Lee Seung-taek, and Kim Seung-hyuk tied for 7th place (12-under-par 272 strokes).