Go Gun-taek’s driver tee shot.
Last year’s Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Tour’s most wins leader (3 wins) Go Gun-taek took the lead for two days in the Founders Cup (total prize money of 700 million won), the second tournament of the KPGA Tour season.
In the second round of the tournament held at Hanmaek Country Club (par 72) in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do on the 19th, Go Gun-taek recorded 5 birdies and reduced his score by 3 strokes.
Go Gun-taek, who had taken the sole lead by hitting 11 under par 61 the previous day, maintained his lead with a midterm total of 14 under par 130 strokes.
However, unlike the previous day when she was leading by 5 strokes, the gap in strokes with 2nd place Park Eun-shin narrowed to 2 strokes.
The putts that went in as intended in the first round missed several times in the second round and there were multiple mistakes.
Go Gun-taek, who had made 11 birdies without making a bogey the previous day, had an uneasy start today with a bogey on the first hole (par 4).
A 7m birdie putt passed the hole by about 1m, but I was unable to putt a par putt.
He was pushed to second place, one stroke behind Song Min-hyuk, who finished the second round with a midterm total of 11 under par and 133 strokes.
Go Gun-taek played a frustrating game, unable to make a birdie until the 7th hole.
However, he changed the mood by catching the first birdie of the second round at the 8th hole (par 5), and also made birdies at the 9th (par 4) and 10th holes (par 4) to immediately regain the lead.
Go Gun-taek seemed to be leading by himself with a birdie in the 15th hole (par 4).
Go Gun-taek missed the green in the 17th hole (par 4) and lost one stroke due to a mistake of failing to hit the green with his third shot, but made up for it by putting in a 2m birdie putt in the 18th hole (par 5).
Go Gun-taek said, “I had a hard time because the distance of the putt was not right, but I regained my senses and was able to birdie three holes in a row. I made a mistake on the 17th hole. With the birdie on the 18th hole, I was able to get through the third round a little more comfortably.”
He pledged, “Now I will forget about 11 under par in the first round and play with a new mindset.”
Park Eun-shin, who hit 66 under par on this day, followed closely behind Go Gun-taek with a midterm total of 12 under par and 132 strokes.
Park Eun-shin has a solid performance, winning twice in 2022 and entering the top 10 seven times last year.
Song Min-hyuk, who passed the qualifying tournament last year and stood out the most among the rookies, and Park Seong-jun, last year’s rookie of the year, tied for third place (11 under par, 133 strokes).
Jang Yu-bin, who entered the professional stage after winning the team gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, submitted 10 under par 134 strokes and ranked 5th.
Seungmin Lee, a golf player with autism and developmental disabilities, hit 2 under par 70 strokes and passed the cut in a tie for 16th place (6 under par 138 strokes).
This is the fifth time Seungmin Lee has made the cut on the KPGA Tour.
Seungmin Lee said, “I want to play aggressively in the 3rd and 4th rounds and get into the top 10.”
Sangpil Yoon, who won the DB Insurance Promy Open, the first tournament of the season on the 14th, missed the cut with a total of 1 over par and 145 strokes. 섯다