Chan-Min Jeong, the farthest player on the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour, got his first chance to win in a major tournament.
Jeong Chan-min shot a 3-under 68 in the second round of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open held at Namseoul Country Club (par 71) in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 5th.
Jeong Chan-min, with an interim total of 11 under par and 131 strokes, beat Lee Jung-hwan (9 under par, 133 strokes) by two strokes and kept the top row of the leaderboard.
Leading for two days in a row following an 8 under par in the first round.
Jung Chan-min, who made his debut on the KPGA Korean Tour last year after playing on the Srixon Tour, attracted attention with his extraordinary long hitting power, winning the Srixon Tour Long Hitting King and the KPGA Korean Tour Long Hitting King.
However, his shot wasn’t very precise, so he finished in the top 10 twice and didn’t report a win.
Chan-Min Jung, who was sluggish outside the 50th place in the two previous tournaments this year, showed off his accurate shots and putts with overwhelming long hits in this tournament.
Jeong Chan-min, who swept 9 birdies the day before, pulled out 6 birdies this day as well.
In particular, he showed off his mental strength to score under par without shaking even after writing down a double bogey as his tee shot flew to the OB zone in hole 1 (par 4).
Jeong Chan-min said, “After making an OB on the first hole, I tried to calm myself down. After that, I did not catch the driver as much as possible and hit a tee shot with woods and irons. Thanks to that, I was able to finish with a 3-under par today and finish in the lead.”
Jeong Chan-min, who can easily hit 350 yards with his big physique, did not hide his desire to win, saying, “It’s okay to be a short hitter,먹튀검증 so I want to win. My goal is to be called a champion, so I try to play clever golf.”
After winning once in 2017 and once in 2018 before enlisting in the military, Lee Jung-hwan, who had not been able to step on the 3-win high for the 5th year, reduced 5 strokes on this day to take the lead.
Lee Jung-hwan hit 30 with 6 birdies in 9 holes in the second half of the day. Lee Jung-hwan said, “I feel like I want to win because I am on the top of the list. I am confident of winning the competition. Last winter, I became more confident in my golf and I feel that I have come close to the golf I want. Patience and composure. I promise I won’t lose.”
Defending champion Kim Bio, who won the tournament twice, cut 3 strokes to rise to a tie for 3rd place (7 under par 135 strokes).
Bio Kim said, “The title defense is a burden. (The first three championships in the tournament) I want to put my name on the first qualifier.” showed attitude.
Hangzhou Asian Games representative Jang Yoo-bin (20, Korea National Sport University) and Jeong Tae-yang also joined in third place and competed for the championship.
Park Sang-hyun, who is ranked first in the prize money ranking and won the tournament twice, loses one stroke and faces the third round with a tie for 30th place (2 under par, 140 strokes).