“Even if I was only 5 years younger!”
Although not at the level of the American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour, the world’s wall was still high. Only three Korean players made it to the top 10 at the Korea Championship (total prize money of $2 million) organized by the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour together with the DP World Tour in 10 years.
The highest ranked was Park Sang-hyun (40, Dong-A Pharmaceutical), who scored 1 eagle, 3 birdies and 3 bogeys in the final round of the tournament held at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Urban Links Course (par 72, 7454 yards) in Songdo, Incheon on the 30th. I changed the dog and reduced 2 strokes. He tied for third place with a final total of 9 under par 279 strokes. They competed for the championship until the middle of the 3rd round, but could not finish the round due to rain the day before, and after playing the remaining rounds from 8:00 am on the same day, they went straight to the final round. On this day, the forced march of 22 holes was held, and the ground condition was not very good due to the strong wind, which is considered the reason for slipping in the championship competition.크크크벳
Park Sang-hyun said, “It was a longer journey than ever. The game was delayed, and I teed off late, so I think we played for two weeks instead of a week. it’s tough. Bacchus is a bit different (laughs)” after raising the mood, “I played satisfactorily. I feel good. I placed 2nd in the first competition and finished 3rd this time, and I am quite satisfied.”
Park Sang-hyun, who is also on the Asian Tour, has a lot of experience among the players who participated in this tournament. This is the secret to putting his name on the top of the leaderboard among Korean players, overtaking young players on the Korean Tour despite adverse conditions. He said, “There are too many players who are better than me in Korea. Still, what he often says to his juniors is, ‘Don’t try to play cool just because you think you’re cool when you see a famous player.’ It’s better to play well than to play cool. Even if your swing is good, it is not cool if the score is not good. He advised, “I think it is cool to make one’s own organs an advantage and play golf in one’s own style.”
As the secret to competing for the championship even in spite of misfortune, he said, “There is nothing special,” but “In my own style, there are a lot of long hitters these days. focus on the These days, I like the feeling of iron shots, so I’m consistently achieving results. (Today) I would have won if I was 5 years younger, but my legs gave way at the last minute,” he laughed.
The championship was won by Pablo Larazabal (40) of Spain, who recorded 12 under par and 276 strokes, taking his 8th win in the DP World Tour. Lara Sabal, who made her professional debut in 2004, is a veteran who has participated in 407 events on the DP World Tour. He won two victories, including winning the ISPS Handa Championship held in Spain last year, and was named the winner for the second consecutive year. La Rasabal also visited Korea 10 years after the 2013 Valentine’s Championship and paid back the disappointment of finishing in a tie for 6th place with a victory.
The DP World Tour will hold 44 tournaments in the 2022-2023 season alone. It is held all over the world, including Australia, South Africa, Iran, and Japan. If you have no choice but to experience various courses and various turf, and if you do not manage your physical strength and establish a routine according to the long-term race, it is a difficult tour to complete, let alone good grades. Know-how accumulated through experience is very important in golf, and it means that the competitiveness itself is different from the Korean Tour, which has about 20 tournaments.
Park Sang-hyun said, “I played the links course and experienced various grasses. Depending on his swing style, the sense of distance and the amount of spin are completely different. He has a lot of experience, so he knows which turf he can score on,” he said. He practiced, but it was not easy to change the swing that has been in his body for 20 years. Rather, my style is gone. It is more important to play according to the situation than to imitate others.”
It is also a point that Korean Tour officials, who have shown pride in expanding their appearance, should consider in terms of securing competitiveness for players. zzang@sportsseoul.com