“Driver is show, putting is money” was a saying about a player like Jung Chan-min (24, photo). With the power of a height of 188 cm and a weight of 120 kg, he took first place (317.1 yards) in the long hit category last year, the first year of his debut on the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour, but nothing more. His iron shots and putts were blunt, so he had to settle for two top-10 finishes.
Jeong Chan-min’s driver was a ‘double-edged sword’ at the 42nd GS Caltex Maekyung Open. He started with an 8-under-par lead, and in the first hole (par 4) of the second round, his tee shot became OB, and he lost two strokes in an instant. Then, Jung Chan-min gave up his ‘street greed’. A tee shot with a wood or iron unless it is a hole that must be hit with a driver. He sacrificed his greatest strength to win. He said, “After making an OB in the first hole, I did not catch the driver if possible,” and “I want to win because it is good to be called a single hitter. I want to be called a champion, not a ‘long hitter’.”스포츠토토
The odds worked. In the final round of the tournament held at Namseoul CC (par 71) in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 7th, Jeong Chan-min tied 1 eagle and 3 birdies to hit a 5 under par 66. Hitting a final total of 16 under par, 197 strokes, he won the championship cup by beating the tied-2nd place group by 6 strokes. It is his first victory in his career after 19 tournaments on the Korean Tour. Having won 300 million won in prize money, he immediately rose to the top of the prize money rankings (305.92 million won).
Even in the final round, Jeong Chan-min did not catch a driver. Able to send 190m with a 7-iron, he even had the time to tee off with an iron on the 5th hole (par 4). Most of his reduction in strokes was due to his good iron shots and short game. In the 3rd hole (par 3) where the first birdie came out, the tee shot was placed about 1m next to it. In the 4th hole (par 5) where the eagle appeared, the wedge shot from the bunker next to the green was put into the hole.
He also shot a tee shot with an iron on the 15th hole (par 4), and took out a driver when the gap with the 2nd place group widened by 6 strokes. The highlight is the 535-yard 16th hole (par 4). Chan-Min Chung sent about 400 yards with a driver tee shot on this hole, and then easily succeeded in two-on. He missed a 2m birdie opportunity, but it was enough to earn fans applause. Even on the last 18th hole (par 4), he held the driver and finished the game with ‘fan service’.
Lee Jeong-hwan (32) tied for second with a 10-under 203 stroke. Song Min-hyeok (19), who came second together, took 120 million won alone without sharing the prize money because he was an amateur national representative.