Korean young guns shoot up OneAsia Order of Merit
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Bae Sang-moon was one of three young Korean stars to make big moves on the OneAsia Order of Merit as the 23-year-old jumped to sixth place with US$197,162 following his SK Telecom Open win.
Runner-up Kim Dae-hyun, the big-hitting 22-year-old who won this month's GS Caltex Maekyung Open, leapt from fifth to second with earnings of US$248,973.
Kim Kyung-tae, 23, finished fourth at the SK Telecom Open and moved up to seventh on the money list as he followed up on his runner-up finish at the Maekyung Open.
PGA Tour star Y.E. Yang, the first Asian to win a Major, remains top with US$416,660 after winning last month's Volvo China Open.
A fired-up Bae secured his second SK Telecom Open title in four years after he posted a 22-under-par total of 266 over the Sky 72 Golf Club's Ocean Course to don Korean golf's Red Jacket and bank the winner's cheque of US$168,208.
Bae overhauled Kim Dae-hyun, who was seeking a wire-to-wire win, by holing a series of crucial putts to close with a five-under 67, a score only matched on a blustery final day by seven-time PGA Tour winner K.J. Choi, who finished third.
Bae also became only the second player, after China's Liang Wenchong, to win two OneAsia titles, having secured his first at the Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open last September.
The Daegu resident, who has won seven individual titles since turning pro in 2004, finished fifth on the OneAsia Order of Merit last year as he also topped the Korean Tour's money list for the second straight season.
Kim Dae-hyun, Bae's good friend and also based in Daegu, confirmed his reputation as one of Asia's most exciting talents by following his outstanding Maekyung Open display with another eye-catching performance.
Ranked the Korean Tour's longest hitter for the past two seasons, Kim shared the first-round lead with a 66 then equalled the course record of 64 as he played the first two days bogey free. A third-round 66 kept ‘Bigfoot' three ahead of Bae, but a closing 73 left him 19-under, one ahead of Choi.
Kim Kyung-tae, who last year had four runner-up finishes on the Japan Tour, also impressed for a second straight OneAsia event as he shot a 64 on day three to equal the course record on his way to finishing 13-under. Kim is the world's third-highest ranked Korean after Yang and Choi.
OneAsia next heads to Jakarta for the Indonesia Open from July 1-4.
