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2019 Tournament

1R Hwang Jung-Gon leads with an impeccable 6-under-par birdie show...Kevin Na are tied for 6th place

Hwang Jung-Gon (27) solely led the first day of the 62nd Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship (total prize money of 1.2 billion Korean won and winning prize of 300 million Korean won). Kevin Na, who has seized 3 PGA Tour titles, tied for 6th place by 3 strokes.

During the first round of the tournament held at the Woo-Jeong Hills Country Club (par 71) in Cheonan on the 20th, Hwang Jung-Gon shot a 6-under-par 65 strokes with a birdie show that caught 6 birdies without a bogey. Starting from the first hole, he made his first birdie on the second hole (par 4), followed by consecutive birdies on the 4th hole (par 3) and the 5th hole (par 5), and added birdie on the 8th hole (par 5). Hwang Jung-Gon finished the first round with the sole lead by making birdies on the 11th (par 4) and 15th (par 4) holes in the second half.

A long hitter Kim Dae-Hyun fiercely chased Hwang Jung-Gon by 1 stroke with a clean play of making 5 birdies without a bogey, seizing 2nd place with the record of 5-under-par 66 strokes. 45-year-old veteran Hwang In-Chun and Korean Tour Champion Moon Kyung-Joon tied for 3rd place with 4-under-par 67 strokes.

Moreover, Thai rising star Phachara Khongwatmai also tied for 3rd place with Hwang In-Chun and Moon Kyung-Joon by making 6 birdies and 2 bogeys. Khongwatmai won the Singapore Open in 2014 at the age of 14, setting a record for holding champion title at the professional championship as a youngest amateur.

Korean-American Kevin Na, who gloriously returned home with 3 champion title at the PGA Tour after his victory at the "Military Tribute" and "Charles Schwab Challenge" since the Korean Open last year, tied for 6th place with 7 birdies and 4 bogeys.

2R Hwang In-Chun, overshadowing his age, leads the Kolon Korea Open second round by 1 stroke

Hwang In-Chun solely led the second round. During this round held on the 21st, he made 3 birdies and 1 bogey to score a 2-under-par 69 strokes.

Hwang In-Chun, who recorded an intermediate total of 6-under-par 136 strokes until the second round, took the lead by 1 stroke among the joint 2nd place group Kang Kyung-Nam (36), Jazz Janewattananond (24), and Phachara Khongwatmai (20). Hwang In-Chun achieved 5 champion title at the KPGA Korean Tour for the first time in 7 years at the 2017 Hyundai Grand Prize, Choi Kyung-Ju Invitational. Thereafter, he, for the first time in two years, set the stage for achieving the champion title.

Hwang In-Chun made a birdie on the 5th hole (par 5), continued his par march, and added a birdie on the 15th hole (par 4). Hwang In-Chun, regardless of his mistake of making a bogey on the 16th hole (par 3), succeeded in 5m par on the 17th hole (par 4) and finished the second round with a birdie on the 18th hole (par 5).

Kang Kyung-Nam, who has 10 KPGA Korean Tour champion title, made 7 birdies and 3 bogeys, resulting in 4-under-par 67 strokes. The intermediate total was 5-under-par 137 strokes, chasing the lead Hwang In-Chun by 1 stroke.

Jazz Janewattananond(62nd in world ranking) and Phachara Khongwatmai tied for 2nd place, causing a Thai sensation. Khongwatmai has 4 championship title at the Asian Tour since turning to professional Long hitter Kim Bong-Sub(36), Lee Su-Min(26), Yu Song-Gu(23), and Prom Meesawat(Thailand), with the intermediate total of 3-under-par 139 strokes, entered the competition for the lead.

3R ‘Thai Sensation’ Jazz Janewattananond leads the Korean Open by 2 strokes.

Jazz Janewattananond(24) took the sole lead in the third round.

In the third round held on the 22nd, Jazz Janewattananond recorded a 2-under-par 69 strokes with 5 birdies and 3 bogeys. He has intermediate total of 7-under-par 206 strokes and became the sole lead, 2 strokes ahead of 2nd place Yu Song-Kyu (23).

Former Thailand national team member Janewattananond entered the professional league on 2010 at his age of fifteen and passed the Asian Tour cut, setting a record for being the youngest to pass the Asian Tour cut.

Janewattananond, who started the third round tied for 2nd place by 1 stroke, made birdie on the 2nd hole (par 4) and a bogey on the 5th hole (par 5). However, he managed to make a birdie on the 6th hole (par 4) and 9th hole (par 4).

After making a bogey on the 10th hole (par 4), Janewattananond dropped a long birdie putt from the green edge of the 15th hole (par 4) into the cup to take the lead. Even though Janewattananond made a bogey on the 17th hole (par 4), Hwang In-Chun also made series of shot mistakes on the 15th hole (par 4). As a result, the ranking was maintained.

Janewattananond finished the third round as a sole lead with the record of making a birdie on the last 18th hole (par 5).

Janewattananond said, "Targeting fairway and green is very important tactic at Woo Jeong Hills golf course. I will pay attention to that in the final round."

The last American champion in 2011 Korea Open was Rickie Fowler and the last Thai champion in 2000 Korea Open was Thongchai Jaidee.

4R Janewattananond dominates Kolon Korea Open...Hwang In-Chun is 2nd place by 1 stroke

Jazz Janewattananond (24) conquered the 62nd Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship. Hwang In-Chun unfortunately finished in 2nd place.

In the final fourth round held on the 23rd, Janewattananond compiled 3 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 triple bogey to record a 1-over-par 72 strokes. He, finishing the round with a total of 6-under-par 278 strokes, took the trophy after beating 2nd Hwang In-Chun by 1 stroke.

Janewattananond previously won the Bangladesh Open in 2017, the Queen's Cup in 2018, and the SMBC Singapore Open in 2019.

Janewattananond became the first foreign champion of the Korean Open, 8 years after Ricky Fowler took the champion title and, as a Thai, 19 years after Thongchai Jaidee in 2000.

Janewattananond, who entered the final round with a 2-strokes lead, seemed to take the preeminent lead with his success of more than 5m long-distance birdies on the 2nd hole (par 4), 5th hole (par 5), and 7th hole (par 3).

In the 11th hole (par 4), Janewattananond dropped his second shot into the penalty area around the green and managed to put the ball back on the green after four attempts. Janewattananond, shaken by a triple bogey, wrote a 3-putt bogey again on the 14th hole (par 4). Eventually, he was chased by Hwang In-Chun by 1 stroke.

However, Janewattananond did not collapse in the 17th hole (par 4) crisis. Janewattananond finished par on the last 18th hole (par 5) before confirming his victory.

Hwang In-Chun tied 3 birdies and 2 bogeys to write a 1-under-par 70 strokes. He, aiming for Janewattananond gap by reducing two shots on nine holes in the first half, lost one shot on the second hole and failed to win the come-from-behind victory. The result was a 5-under-par 279 strokes.

Kim Chan, a Korean-American, finished in 3rd place with a total of 4-under-par 280 strokes. Kevin Na, who won PGA Tour 3 times, finished in 6th place with 2-under-par 282 strokes.