Bae faces young guns in bid for Kolon Korea Open hat-trick
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Bae Sang-moon's bid for a hat-trick of Kolon Korea Open titles in next week's OneAsia event is set to come under threat from a host of rival Korean 'young guns', including current Japan Tour leader Kim Kyung-tae, Asian Tour number one Noh Seung-yul and Korean Tour frontrunner Kim Dae-hyun.
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Bae Sang-moon. |
Y.E. Yang, Asia's first Major champion, and three-time PGA Tour winner Anthony Kim will be among the star attractions at the 53rd edition of the tournament, which will be held at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan from October 7-10.
However, much of the crowd's focus will be on 24-year-old Bae and the other young Koreans lighting up the region's golf tours, all of whom are expected to follow compatriots Yang and K.J. Choi to the top of the world game.
The confident Bae is attempting to become the first player to win three successive Kolon Korea Open titles since Han Chang-sang achieved two hat-tricks among his seven wins from 1964-67 and 1970-72.
"Woo Jeong Hills is the perfect golf course for my style of playing," said Bae, winner of the last two Korean Tour money list titles and currently seventh on the OneAsia Order of Merit.
"The par-threes are tough, so I will have to hit some good long-iron shots to make this my third Korea Open win."
Last year Bae held off Kim Dae-sub and Rory McIlroy to successfully defend his Kolon Korea Open title and finished fifth on the OneAsia Order of Merit. In May he won his second OneAsia title at the SK Telecom Open, his seventh individual victory since turning pro in 2004.
Kim Kyung-tae, who shot a 64 to beat Ryo Ishikawa in the Korea-Japan team match earlier this month, leads the Japan Tour money list after finishing joint third in the Panasonic Open on Sunday, winning the Diamond Cup in late May and racking up four fourth-place finishes.
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Kim Kyung-tae |
Since winning the 2007 Korean Tour money list in his rookie season, the 24-year-old has played mainly in Japan and is now ranked 60th in the world, making him the third-highest ranked Korean behind Yang and Choi.
