Sungkuk Park Celebrates First KPGA Tour Victory in Seven Years

Golfzon Open Victory by Four Strokes
Second Career Win, 200 Million Won Prize
Donghwan Lee Second, Kim Chanwoo Third, Bae Sangmoon Fifteenth

Sungkuk Park claimed a championship trophy for the first time in seven years.

On September 21, at Golfzon County Sunsan in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province (par 71, 7,100 yards), Sungkuk Park shot a 5-under-par 66 in the fourth round of the Golfzon Open on the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour, which has a total prize fund of 1 billion won. He secured a dominant victory by four strokes with a total of 16-under-par 268. This marks his second tour win, coming seven years after his previous victory at the Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyungju Invitational in October 2018. The winner's prize is 200 million won.

Sungkuk Park is teeing off at the 1st hole of the 4th round of the Golfzon Open. Photo by KPGA

Sungkuk Park started the round tied for the lead with Chanwoo Kim and Junseok Lee (Australia), recording five birdies without a single bogey. He reduced his score by three strokes over the first nine holes to take the lead, and with a birdie on the 17th hole (par 3), where he was already ahead by three strokes, he effectively secured the win early.

Born in 1988, Sungkuk Park debuted on the KPGA Tour in 2007. Last year, he ranked 84th in the Player of the Year points and 86th in prize money, so this year he also played on the second-tier tour. With this victory, he has secured a two-year exemption on the main tour. Sungkuk Park expressed his excitement, saying, "Last year was the toughest year of my golf career, as I lost my tour card for the first time after playing for so long. I am happy to be able to return to the tour quickly."

Donghwan Lee finished second with a two-under-par round, totaling 12-under-par 272. Chanwoo Kim shot even par and dropped to third place at 11-under-par 273. Taehui Lee, Jinho Choi, and Sangmoon Bae tied for 15th at 6-under-par 278. Junseok Lee struggled with a 7-over-par round and fell to a tie for 27th at 4-under-par 280. Last year's champion, Jungwoo Ham, finished tied for 34th at 3-under-par 281.