Lee Chang-ki (New Zealand) finished the first round as the sole leader.
Lee Chang-gi 2023 KPGA (Korea Professional Golf) Tour Gunsan CC Open (total prize money 500 million won / championship prize money 100 million won), which opened at Gunsan CC (par 72/7,442 yards) in Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do on the 24th, 1 eagle, 9 birdies in the first round He recorded an 11-under 61 with a dog. It was a pleasant start without any superfluity.안전놀이터
Lee Chang-gi won the right to participate through the preliminary round of this tournament. In the qualifying round held on Monday, the 21st, in an 18-hole stroke-play format, Lee Chang-gi tied for 3rd with a 5-under-par 67 strokes and barely qualified for the tournament, which is given to the top 7 players.
And three days later, on the 24th, he changed the course record and took the lead alone. Previously, the course record was 62 strokes, held by Soo-Min Lee (3R in 2013), Doo-Hwan Bang (2R in 2017), and Min-Gyu Kim (FR in 2020), but today the main character of the record has changed.
Also, the winner of this tournament will be given a 3-year seed. Lee Chang-gi continued the remaining three days aiming for the lead. It is important to seize the opportunity as soon as it arrives.
After the play, Lee Chang-ki smiled and said, “I wonder if this is the day when I can do anything well (laughs). It was a day where not only shots and putts, but also mistakes continued to lead to opportunities.”
Regarding the newly changed Gunsan CC course, Lee Chang-gi said, “I played it for the first time at the KPGA Korean Tour QT last year, and since the course was changed, I played it for the first time in the official practice round of this tournament. It is more difficult to attack the course than before. It is difficult to save if you enter the bunker. .There are more bunkers like this in Australia than in Korea, and I think I was able to play more comfortably because I experienced it.”
Regarding the part where he recorded the course record with a birdie on the 18th hole, Lee Chang-gi said, “Actually, I didn’t know it was a course record. The caddy told me that it was 7 under par on the 12th hole (par 4), but I tried not to pay attention to the score after that. This year’s KPGA I once hit 9 under par in the Rickson Tour qualifying round.”
When asked about his goal for this tournament, Lee Chang-gi said, “My goal is to maintain a high ranking so that I can compete in more tournaments in the second half. I will play calmly without being too nervous.”
Following Lee Chang-gi, Jeong-woo Ham started second with an 8-under-par 64, 3 strokes away from the lead, while Park Eun-shin, Kang Kyung-nam, and Kwon Seong-yeol tied for 3rd place with a 7-under 65. Kim Min-soo, Kim Jin-seong, Jeon Seong-hyeon, and Choi Young-joon tied for 6th with a 6-under-par 66, while Kwon Oh-sang, Park Sang-hyun, Park Hyun-seo, Park Seong-je, Ok Tae-hun, Lee Seung-chan, Moon Do-yeop, Jang Yu-bin (Ama), and Kim Seung-hyuk tied for 10th with a 5-under 67. and entered the second round.
Defending champion Seo Yo-seop was tied for 129th with a 3-over par, and needed to do his best in the second round, while Go Gun-taek, who is trying to win two consecutive tournaments and three wins this season, tied for 43rd with a 2-under par. Maeng Dong-seop abstained.