Asian Tour Book 2024

leaderboard at the end of the tournament. It wasn’t without hiccups on Sunday, but when he looked like he was in trouble midway through the round, Kim derived some inspiration from Korean legend ‘KJ’ Choi, who was faced with a similar shot a few months before en route to winning the SK Telecom Open. With a three-shot lead, Kim did not hit a good tee shot on the par-three 13th hole. His ball landed in the water surrounding the island green but somehow it splashed Minkyu Kim and Younghan Song [left] claimed the two Open spots, while Miguel Tabuena [right] enjoyed his best finish of the year up until that point. out and finished on the edge of the green, from where he salvaged a par. It was reminiscent of the Choi’s win a play-off, as he won at the age of 54 by making his up-and-down for par. Kim, who started the final round two shots behind Song, said: “I was thinking about KJ’s island shot at that moment. I tried to hit a fade, but it flew too low, hit the water and bounced out. I went over, and the ball was there. “After I survived that, I felt I was going to win, and then I birdied the next hole.” The birdie on the 14th increased his cushion to four shots, and a late bogey on the long par-three 16th was something he could afford without sweating much. After finishing with a birdie on the last, Kim said: “I feel like I am dreaming. “It was an unfortunate accident. I had to miss some tournaments to recover. In the 2023 season, I did have a few chances to win, but I missed out. It’s just been a very disappointing 2022 and 2023 for me, so I am happy I am finding back my form.” Song, who beat then world No.1 Jordan Spieth to win the 2016 Singapore Open, moved into contention with a 67 on a rainy Saturday. He birdied the 18th hole in the final round to finish solo second, but his challenge was undone by a double bogey six on the par-four ninth hole. Tabuena almost turned around his form in style when he edged to within one shot of the leader with five birdies in his first 14 holes but dropped shots on consecutive holes to slip behind. The fifth place was his first top five of the year – the result of deciding to use the putter and irons he’d used the previous season. “It was a great week overall; I have been battling some things with my game,” said Tabuena. “After I missed the cut in Oman this year, I changed my irons and then I lost my confidence. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I made the switch back to the irons and putter I was using before. “I am slowly getting there, but my game is trending. Any week you finish in the top five, it’s excellent.” Korean Sangmoon Bae, a two-time champion on the PGA Tour and winner of the Kolon Korea Open in 2008 and 2009, was the toast of the tournament on the opening day when he took a share of the lead with a 67. He eventually finished tied 10th. 64 KOLON KOR E A OPEN PR E SEN T ED BY ELORD WOO J EON G H I L L S CO U N T RY C L U B J U N E 2 0 - 2 3 | P R I Z E MON E Y: K RW 1 , 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 ( A P P ROX I MAT E LY U S $ 9 8 0 , 0 0 0 )