KPGA-DP World Tour co-sanctioned event tees off Thursday in Cheonan

Korea seeks third straight title after Ahn Byeong-hun, Lee Jeong-hwan wins

Shin Sang-hun, Jeong Chan-min, Jang Yu-bin in tight Genesis Points race

Clockwise from top left: defending champion Lee Jeong-hwan, Jeong Chan-min — who is chasing back-to-back wins — Genesis Points leader Shin Sang-hun, and PGA Tour player Kim Si-woo.
Clockwise from top left: defending champion Lee Jeong-hwan, Jeong Chan-min — who is chasing back-to-back wins — Genesis Points leader Shin Sang-hun, and PGA Tour player Kim Si-woo.

PGA Tour players Kim Si-woo and Im Sung-jae will join this year's Open Championship winner Ryan Fox of New Zealand and other top international names to compete in Korea this week.

The Genesis Championship, co-sanctioned by the KPGA Tour and the European DP World Tour, runs Thursday through Sunday at Ujeong Hills Country Club (par 71, 7,367 yards) in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

Founded in 2017, the tournament marks its 10th anniversary this year and carries a purse of $4 million, with $680,000 going to the winner. A field of 126 players will compete — 36 from the KPGA Tour and 90 from the DP World Tour.

Kim enters ranked 14th in the world after a PGA Tour season that included three runner-up finishes among 11 top-10 results. He also qualified for the Tour Championship, the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. At last year's Genesis Championship, he finished tied for 21st.

Im sits 60th in the world rankings after posting six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. He advanced to the BMW Championship, the second event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and returns to a domestic event for the first time in roughly six months since the Woori Financial Group Championship in April.

Im won his first KPGA Tour title at the 2019 Genesis Championship and shared the runner-up spot in 2023 after a playoff against Park Sang-hyun and Bae Yong-jun. Last year he finished tied for 42nd.

Clockwise from top left: Ryan Fox, this season's Open Championship winner; Eugenio Chacarra of Spain, who leads the Race to Dubai with three DP World Tour wins this season; Casey Jarvis of South Africa, a two-time winner this season; and Daniel Hillier, runner-up at the most recent event. [Getty Images]
Clockwise from top left: Ryan Fox, this season's Open Championship winner; Eugenio Chacarra of Spain, who leads the Race to Dubai with three DP World Tour wins this season; Casey Jarvis of South Africa, a two-time winner this season; and Daniel Hillier, runner-up at the most recent event. [Getty Images]

The DP World Tour contingent is equally formidable. Fox, who claimed his first major title at The Open in July, headlines the international field alongside Eugenio Chacarra of Spain — who leads the Race to Dubai standings with three DP World Tour wins this season — and Casey Jarvis of South Africa, a two-time winner this year. Chacarra arrives in strong form, having posted a third, a second and a win in his last three starts.

Whether a Korean player can claim a third consecutive title is another storyline to watch. Ahn Byeong-hun won in 2024 after a playoff against Kim Joo-hyung, and Lee Jeong-hwan lifted the trophy last year.

Defending champion Lee mounted a final-round charge last year, carding a 7-under 64 to erase a four-stroke deficit. He finished at 11-under 273, pulling three clear of the group tied for second. A successful title defense this week would make him the first two-time winner in the event's history and give Korean players three consecutive championships.

The Genesis Points race among KPGA Tour players is equally tight. Shin Sang-hun, 28, who finished runner-up at the preceding Charity Classic, leads with 4,807.94 points. Jeong Chan-min, 27, who won that same event wire-to-wire, sits second at 4,744.77, and Jang Yu-bin is third at 4,512.08.

The gap between Shin and Jeong is just 63.17 points, while Jang trails Shin by 295.86. This week's event is the last on the KPGA Tour calendar to award Genesis Points at 130 percent of the standard rate, with the winner receiving 1,300 points.

Jeong said he is determined to challenge for the Genesis Points title but will focus on his own game this week, starting with making the cut. He is also chasing back-to-back wins.

Jang Yu-bin and Choi Chan, both two-time winners this season, are also in the field, along with Wang Jeong-hun, Bae Yong-jun and Brandon Kewalaramani. Lee Kyoung-hoon, who won back-to-back Kolon Korea Open titles at Ujeong Hills CC in 2015 and 2016, returns to a KPGA Tour event for the first time in about seven years.

The winner receives KPGA Tour and DP World Tour playing rights for the 2027-28 seasons, 1,300 Genesis Points, 835 Race to Dubai ranking points and a Genesis vehicle. The highest-finishing KPGA Tour player in the field will earn a spot in next year's Genesis Scottish Open.


yjc@heraldcorp.com