Final-round 64 edges Hwang Jae-min by 3 strokes; Shin Sang-hun clinches Genesis Award
Jung Jae-hyun, 21, captured his first KPGA regular tour title Sunday at the season's final event.
Jung fired a bogey-free, eight-birdie 64 — 8 under par — in the final round of the KPGA Tour Championship in Jeju at Teddy Valley Golf & Resort's Valley-Teddy Course (par 72) in Seogwipo, Jeju, which carried a purse of 1.1 billion won ($820,000). Starting the day tied for second, one stroke off the lead, Jung finished at a total of 13 under par 275 to beat Hwang Jae-min (10 under par 278) by three strokes. The winner's share was 220 million won.
Jung debuted on the KPGA regular tour in 2024 and had won twice on the second-tier circuit, but Sunday marked his first regular tour title. The victory also erased the sting of a runner-up finish the previous week at the Lexus Masters, where he fell short in a playoff.
With the strong winds that had battered the course through the first three rounds finally easing, Jung came out swinging from the start. He hit eight of nine greens on the front nine, making four birdies to move into sole possession of the lead. On the back nine, he added a birdie at the 10th hole (par 4) and then drained a 4-meter birdie putt at the 12th (par 4) to stretch his advantage to two strokes.
Fortune also smiled on Jung at the 15th hole (par 5), where his tee shot struck a cart path to the right and bounced back into the rough. He made birdie there anyway, entering the 18th hole (par 4) two strokes clear of Hwang, who was playing in the same group. Jung sealed the win by sticking his second shot to within a meter of the cup and converting the birdie putt.
Jung's final-round 64 broke the previous course record of 65 by one stroke. Brandon Kewalramani of the United States and Kim Hong-taek also shot 64 on Sunday, meaning three players jointly set the new course record.
Hwang Jae-min, who had led the field through the second and third rounds, finished as runner-up. Kim Min-gyu and Jeong Han-mil each shot 5 under on Sunday to tie for third at 9 under par 279.
The victory added 1,000 Genesis Points to Jung's tally, lifting his season total to 3,878.67 points and placing him eighth in the final standings.
Meanwhile, Shin Sang-hun finished tied for 24th at 1 over par 289 but secured the season's Genesis Award — the tour's player-of-the-year honor — claiming the title for the first time in his career.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
