Brazilian golfer Rodrigo Lee topped the final qualifier for the Kolon 68th Korea Open Golf Championship.
The final qualifier for the Korea Open, co-hosted by Kolon and the Korea Golf Association (KGA), was held May 11-12 at the Dunes Course of La Vie est Belle Golf & Resort in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. A total of 15 players earned tickets to the main event, including Rodrigo Lee, Hwang Jae-min, Yeom Seo-hyun, Park Seong-je, Cha Yul-gyeom and Park Il-hwan.
Rodrigo Lee earned the top qualifier honor with a total of 10-under-par 132. After climbing five spots on the second day, he said, "This is my first Korea Open appearance, so my expectations are high. I heard Woojeong Hills Country Club has become much more challenging since last year's renovation, and since it's a course I haven't played yet, I'm nervous, but I want to challenge for the win just like I did in the final qualifier." He added, "I'm in my second year on the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour this year, and I hope golf fans will take great interest and cheer for me."
Hwang Jae-min, who secured his main event ticket as the runner-up with 9-under-par 133, said, "Just like the KPGA Founders Cup, where I posted a good result, focusing on the process led to a good outcome." He added, "For the sake of my son, who keeps teasing me that I finish last every day, I'll aim for a strong performance in the main event and even contend for the title."
Yeom Seo-hyun, who finished the first day of the final qualifier at 9-under but stumbled slightly with a 1-over-par on the second day to end the tournament in third place overall, said, "I'm happy to be able to compete in the Korea Open through the qualifier system, even though I didn't have a seed this year." He added, "I heard top players from LIV Golf will also compete, but since I know the course and strategy at Woojeong Hills CC well, I'll fine-tune my shots to fit the course during the remaining time and deliver a good result."
The Korea Open introduced its qualifier system in 2006. This year, a total of 500 players entered the first-round qualifier across five sessions, and 146 of them advanced to the final qualifier to compete for main event tickets. The Korea Open main event will be held over four days starting May 21 at Woojeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
