1R ‘Pride of Gunsan’ Joo Heung-Chol headed off the 1st round
At the 61st KOLON KOREA OPEN, golf tournament with the best authority in Korea, Joo Heung-Chol became the leader on the first day of the championship with 6 under par 65 strokes. He took the top spot leaving Oh Seungtaek, amateur golf national team member, behing in the first round by just one stroke. Joo Heung-Chol, recorded 5 birdies and 1 bogey including an eagle, gradually lowered the number of strokes through hitting the birdie and bogey at the 2nd and 4th hole each . With continuous bogeys on the 5th and 6th hole, he ranked high on the leaderboard through shaving off a storke on the 9th hole. Again, on the 11th hole, he saved a par and hit an eagle on the last hole. At the hole, he sent the ball near the green with his second shot and holed out directly. At an interview after the round, he expressed himself delighted with the best score during 11 times of participation in KOLON KOREA OPEN. In addition, Kevin Na of PGA Tour, Choi Hosung of JPGA Tour and Lee Seungtaek shared the 3rd position on the first round with 4 under par.
2R ‘The Veteran’ Choi Hosung outmanoeuvred
On the 2nd round of KOLON KOREA OPEN, Choi Hosung took the lead. Despite of his age, 45 and inconvenience in his thumb, Choi Hosung came into the spotlight for his competitive performance. Through hitting 5 under par on the 2nd round, he put Park Sang-Hyun and Han Chang-Won off the scent by 4 strokes with 9 under par 133 strokes. Though a pin was attached in the spot with difficulties compared to the 1st round, he successfully recorded 4 birdies and a bogie with an eagle. After the 2nd round, he interviewed that training various types of trouble shots in Japan was of great service to overcome a crisis in play.
3R ‘Little Giant’ Choi Min-Cheol outlined on the 3rd round
Choi Min-Cheol reduced 7 strokes through hitting 8 birdies and 1 bogie with 10 under par on the 3rd round of KOLON KOREA OPEN. Choi Hosung, leader until the 2nd roound, finished the 3rd round as the 2nd with 8 under par. Simon Yates (Scotland) and Lee Seungtaek are following in the 3rd place with 6 under par. Though Choi Min-Cheol had started the 3rd round as the 8th, he went from strength to strength with continuous birdies on the 1st and 2nd holes. Finally, he penetrated into the leadger group with birdies on both the 5th hole and 6th hole. In spite of a bogie on the 9th hole, his upturn was not ended. Choi Min-Cheol recorded a birdie immediately on the 10th hole and shaved off 3 strokes during the last 4 holes. Choi Min-Cheol generated ‘Hole-out’ with consectuive birdies on the 17th and 18th hole. On the contrary, Choi Hosung, the leader until the 2nd round, was discouraged with double bogey on the 17th hole. However, Choi Hosung still stands a chance of turning this championship around since he lagged behind just by 2 strokes. At present, Choi Hosung who participated in the 61ST KOLON KOREA OPEN through trials has been aiming to win the championship.
4R First-time victory, Choi Min-Cheol won ‘National Title + KRW 300,000,000 + The Open qualification’
In the end, Choi Min-Cheol put on a winner’s jacket for the first time in his life in the authoritative golf championship, 61st KOLON KOREA OPEN. Through winning the championship, he secured ‘National Title’, ‘KRW 300,000,000’ and ‘The Open qualification’ in his hands. On the 24th of June, Choi Min-Cheol shaved off 2 strokes with 4 birdies and 2 bogeys on the 4th round in Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Cheonan City (Par 71). Finally, he lifted the trophy through coming in ahead of Park Sang-Hyun by 2 strokes with 12 under par 272 strokes. While Choi Min-Cheol had begun the final round as the leader, he started badly with a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 4). However, he was unperturbed and hit a birdie on the 6th hole (par 4). In the latter half of the round, he reduced a stroke on the 10th hole (par 4) and putted successfully from 5 meters away from the hole on the 11th hole (par 4). Unfortunately, he hit a 3 putt bogey on the 16th hole (par 3). Nevertheless, he could complete the final round dramatically through recording a birdie on the 18th hole. Although Park Sang-hyun failed to win the championship, he became to enter ‘The Open’ with Choi Min-Cheol.