The Open Major Kicks Off at Portrush, Northern Ireland
Fond Memories of Runner-Up Finish in 2023
Rising Momentum with 17th Place at Last Week's Genesis Scottish Open
Juhyung Kim is aiming for a repeat of his 2023 success.
On July 17 (local time), he will compete in the 153rd edition of The Open, the final major tournament of the men's golf season, held at Royal Portrush Golf Club (par 71, 7,381 yards) in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
The Open boasts the longest history among the four major tournaments. The inaugural event was held in 1860. The US Open began in 1895, and the PGA Championship started in 1916. The Masters, known as the "Tournament of Masters," was established in 1934.
Juhyung Kim challenges for victory at the oldest major tournament, The Open. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
The Open is held at one of nine golf courses in the United Kingdom. Currently, there are four venues each in England and Scotland, and Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, which is hosting this year's tournament, is the only one in that region. Originally, The Open was also held at Turnberry in Scotland until 2009. However, after the incident in 2021 when fervent supporters of former US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol, the R&A, which organizes The Open, excluded Turnberry?owned by President Trump?from the list of host venues.
Recently, there have been reports that, with President Trump returning to office this year, the R&A has begun a feasibility study on whether The Open could be held at Turnberry again. This year, The Open returns to Royal Portrush, the site of fierce competition, for the first time in six years since 2019. At that time, Shane Lowry of Ireland claimed victory by six strokes.
Representing Korea are Juhyung Kim, K.J. Choi, Byeong Hun An, Sungjae Im, Siwoo Kim, and Younghan Song. Among them, Juhyung Kim is drawing particular attention. He achieved the best-ever finish by a Korean player at The Open in 2023, tying for second place at the 151st edition held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Wirral, England.
At the time, 21-year-old Juhyung Kim became the youngest player in 47 years to finish runner-up or better at The Open since Seve Ballesteros of Spain in 1976. Ballesteros, who was born in 1957 and passed away in 2011, was 19 years old when he finished second at the tournament in 1976. Despite suffering a bruised ankle after slipping at his accommodation following the first round, Kim managed to secure a runner-up finish at a major tournament under challenging circumstances.
Juhyung Kim, who has three career wins on the PGA Tour, has maintained decent form recently. Although he experienced some difficulties while adjusting his swing earlier this year, he made the cut in three of his last five tournaments and finished tied for 17th at last week's Genesis Scottish Open. This raises expectations for a strong performance in the final major of the season.
Royal Portrush, the venue for this year's tournament, is a links course adjacent to the sea. As is typical for links courses, it is relatively flat, heavily influenced by the sea, subject to strong winds, and marked by highly variable weather conditions. The course also features deep rough and a significant number of bunkers. The winner will receive the Claret Jug trophy and a prize of $3.1 million (approximately 4.28 billion KRW). The total prize fund is $17 million (approximately 23.5 billion KRW).
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