Ace, eagle highlight 10-under 60 in second round

First Korean winner in 53 years

Jung Jae-hyun, Wang Jeong-hun among those tied for second

Song Min-hyuk plays a shot during the Philippine Open. [Asian Tour]
Song Min-hyuk plays a shot during the Philippine Open. [Asian Tour]

Song Min-hyuk, 22, swept the Asian Tour's 2026 season finale, the Philippine Open, by seven strokes Sunday, clinching both his second title of the season and the Rookie of the Year award in one dominant performance.

Playing the final round at Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite — a par-70 layout stretching 7,138 yards — Song carded two birdies and a double bogey for an even-par 70. His 72-hole total of 15-under-par 265 left the group tied for second at 8-under 272 a full seven strokes back, earning him the winner's check of $180,000 from the $1 million purse.

The tournament was effectively decided in the second round. Song fired a 10-under 60 — highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 16th and a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th — to seize the lead. He then added a 5-under 65 in the third round, stretching his advantage to seven strokes.

In the final round, Song picked up birdies on holes 4 and 12. A double bogey on the par-4 15th threatened his lead, but he parred out to seal the victory. The win made him only the second Korean to claim the Philippine Open title — founded in 1913 — following Kim Seung-hak's triumph in 1973, a gap of 53 years.

Song had claimed his first professional victory at the 45th GS Caltex MK Open last May, and Sunday's win gave him two career titles in roughly six months. The Philippine Open title also secured him the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year award, edging out Australia's Cameron John.

"After shooting 60 in the second round, I felt like I could actually win this," Song said. "Having such a big lead made the final round a little easier to get through." He added: "Winning the season opener and now the season finale — 2026 is going to be the most memorable year of my life."

Song made his KPGA Tour debut in 2024 and won the tour's rookie award that year. This season he finished fourth on both the KPGA Tour's Genesis Points and money lists, capping the finest stretch of his young career with back-to-back rookie honors on the domestic and international circuits.

Fellow Koreans also packed the leaderboard. Jung Jae-hyun, 21 — last week's KPGA Tour Championship winner — along with Wang Jeong-hun, 31, Kim Min-gyu, 25, and Ham Jeong-woo, 32, all finished at 8-under 272 to share second place. Thailand's Rataanon Wannasrichan and Sarit Suwannarut also tied for second.

Korean players combined for three victories in Asian Tour events held overseas this year. Jo Woo-young won the season-opening Philippine Golf Championship in February, Ham Jeong-woo took the Singapore Open in April, and Song closed out the campaign by winning the finale — giving Korean golfers both the first and last titles of the 2026 Asian Tour season.


yjc@heraldcorp.com