A bouncy, cheering field, the biggest, best competition ever…will we see it again next year?

“Wow!”

Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Songdo, Incheon, on Friday.

At Gallery Plaza, a crowd of golf fans watched in awe as the game was broadcast on the big screen, and they enjoyed the thrill of golf as they watched the players in the championship group of the KPGA (Korea Professional Golf) Korean Tour’s Genesis Championship (total prize money of 1.5 billion won) fight for a one-stroke lead late in the tournament.

The Genesis Championship is the biggest and best tournament on the KPGA Korean Tour. It boasts the highest prize fund and is the first tier event in the ‘Genesis Points’ that recognizes the best players of the year. It is one of the first tournaments that tour professionals aspire to and want to perform well in. The top players on the Korean Tour, including Park Sang-hyun, Heo In-ho, and Ham Jeong-woo, were all in attendance. In particular, this tournament also featured Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist Lim Sung-jae, who played on the PGA (Professional Golf Association of America) Tour and made his first KPGA Korean Tour appearance in more than three years and seven months at the Woori Financial Championship in May.

A golf industry insider who toured the course for four days said, “The Genesis Championship has a higher gallery level than any other tournament, and the gallery that came to this tournament was impressive.”

That’s why golf fans love it so much. In 2018, 30,000 galleries visited the tournament for the first time on the KPGA Korean Tour. The following year, a total of 38,000 galleries visited the tournament over four days, setting a record for a single tournament. This year, a total of 9745 galleries have entered the tournament through the third round. In addition to the general gallery, many people from the golf industry also visited the venue, showing off the atmosphere of the most popular tournament.

It remains to be seen if they will be able to enjoy the Genesis Championship next year. The Genesis Championship’s contract with the Association ends this year. As the end of the season approaches, there is no word of a renewal. The association is scrambling to renew the contract, but there is also talk of reorganizing the tournament in cooperation with overseas tours. It is unclear if the tournament will be a “golf festival” where all seeded domestic players can participate.

The finish was dramatic. KPGA Korean Tour players Bae Yong-jun and Park Sang-hyun finished the final round first with a final total of 17-under par, while Lim Sung-jae, who had a one-stroke lead, missed a par putt to force overtime. In the first overtime at the 18th hole (par-5), Bae and Park made birdie putts, while Lim had to settle for par, and the match was reduced to a two-way tie. In the second overtime, Park reached the green with his second shot and made an eagle putt to win the title over Bae. Park now has 12 career wins on the KPGA Korean Tour and more than 5 billion won in prize money. 스포츠토토

Meanwhile, he earned 13 points in the final round of the Dongbu E&C-Korea Land Trust Championship at Iksan CC East and West Courses (Par 72-6724) in Jeonbuk, South Korea, to top the leaderboard with a final total of 43 points. In the tournament, which was played in a modified Stableford format where points are awarded for each hole, Bang entered the final round in second place by one point and earned 13 points with seven birdies and one bogey. After winning his first career title at the E1 Charity Open in May, Bang returned to the winner’s circle just over five months later.