“I thought I might not be able to win.”
In the final round of the tournament, the ranking fluctuated amid fierce competition for the lead. Kim Dong-min (25, NH Nonghyup Bank), who only left the 17th and 18th holes in a situation where a single mistake could soon be pushed out of the competition, went back and forth between cold and hot baths. Because he fell one stroke behind the lead when he committed a bogey on the 17th hole. However, the number of wins in the last 18th hole led to the ‘Eagle’, and he wrote a reverse electrode, and tasted the joy of winning for the first time in his life.
In the final round of the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour KB Financial Live Championship (total prize money of 700 million won) held at Blackstone Golf Club (par 72, 7270 yards) in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do on the 28th, Kim Dong-min made 5 birdies and 2 bogies including an eagle. and lifted the championship cup with a final total of 8 under par 280 strokes.
It was an epic drama. The previous day’s shot was shaking and he committed triple bogey and double bogey, and ranked 10th with a middle total of 3 under par 213 strokes. He was 5 strokes behind the leader and thought he was practically far from the championship, but he cut 4 birdies only in the first half and reduced 4 strokes to chase after the lead, and at the last hole, the 18th hole, he had an ‘eagle ending’.
Kim Dong-min said, “I never dreamed that I would win after the third round yesterday. After he finished the first half of the day and looked at the score, he followed it a lot and thought ‘I can do it’ and worked hard until the end, but good results came out. I am really happy to be able to write an eagle,” he said. “I was very nervous and nervous, but I am very happy with my first win in my life.”
Kim Dong-min, who made his professional debut after winning the bronze medal in the team event by participating in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta Palembang with the Taegeuk mark, has been in his fourth year of debut this year, but has nothing to do with winning. As the secret to winning this tournament, he cited ‘improving the confidence of the tee shot’.
Kim Dong-min said, “I missed the tee shot a lot, so the score didn’t come out well, and even in important situations (leading position), I think I kept slipping from the championship because of the tee shot.” I played 3-4 OBs (out of bounds) per game, and the game was not good. The problem is the tee shot.”
He added, “I didn’t take separate lessons, and I tried to find the answer while worrying a lot on my own. I found the answer to some extent by changing the weight of the club little by little. If it was 10 to 20 points before, it seems to have risen to 70 points now,” he said.
On this day, with the last two holes remaining, he made a disappointing bogey on the 17th hole and was pushed out of the lead competition. That is why he said that he made the winning number on the last 18th hole.
Kim Dong-min said, “When the bogey came out on the 17th hole, I thought, ‘Winning will be difficult.’ However, looking at the scoreboard ahead of the 18th hole, the first place was 7 under par, and I was 6 under par. I thought that if I made an eagle, I would win with 8 under par or at least extend it. So he raised the odds,” he said. “The second shot was 210m away, but to safely catch a birdie, I could drop it in front of the green and approach it. However, he boldly passed it with his 3-wood and it hit well, so he stuck to the 6m hole cup and made an eagle,” he explained the situation at the time.
After winning his first career championship, his next step is to win one more before the end of the season. In addition, the goal is to challenge the Conferrier Tour.
Kim Dong-min said, “Originally, winning was my top priority. After doing this, I think I gained more confidence. Before the end of this year, I want to win one more championship and challenge the Genesis Grand Prize,” he said. “I always wanted to go to the PGA Tour. I think I will have to go through Conferrier, but I was a little hesitant to go because there was no championship in the first place. But since I won the championship, I think I need to make a plan.”메이저놀이터
On the other hand, Kim Dong-min made his debut on the KPGA Korean Tour in 2020 and won his first championship in 53 tournaments. By winning this tournament, Kim Dong-min ranked first in Genesis points (2351.80) and second in Genesis prize money rankings (338 million won). kmg@sportsseoul.com