Lee scores first Korean Tour win at Herald-KYJ

Lee Hyung-joon, a 22-year-old rookie, won the second Herald-KYJ Tour Championship.

It was his first victory on the KPGA Korean Tour.

He took first place with a 6-under 210 in the 300 million won ($279,000) tournament at Lotte Skyhill Country Club on the southern island of Jejudo on Monday.

Hong Soon-sang, a 33-year-old Seoul native, took second with three shots behind Lee. Defending champion Hur In-hoi, 27, from Gyeonggi Province, placed third with 1-under 215.

“I bogeyed two of the four holes I played this morning. I should have done better. I may have been complacent with my lead,” Lee said. “I am a bit bewildered about my first win.”

Lee took home 60 million won in prize money, while Hong and Hur pocketed 30 million and 18 million won, respectively. 

Lee, a Gwangju native, turned pro on June 15, 2010. He has competed in 11 tournaments on the Korean Tour, including Herald-KYJ, this year, and made the cut in 10 of them. Through winning Herald-KYJ, he has moved from 43rd to 20th spot on the Korean Tour money rankings with about 108 million won.

On account of heavy rain and gusts of wind, the tournament was reduced from four rounds (72 holes) to three rounds (54 holes). The championship was scheduled to end on Sunday, but due to bad weather, 12 players finished their rounds on Monday morning.

“Low-flying shots are my style, which is one of my weak points. However, in windy weather, it seemed to have played favorably,” he said.

“I’ve accomplished my goal to get a seed on the KPGA Korean Tour. I want to become one of the best players in Asia, like K.J. Choi and Bae Sang-moon. And I also want to be a long-running player.”

The event is organized by the KPGA and cosponsored by golfwear company KYJ and Herald Business. It was launched last year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Herald Corp.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)