Players who are leaving the Korea Professional Golfers Association (KPGA) tour to advance to a bigger stage are appearing one after another. This part is also read as the devaluation of the value of the KPGA tour. The association’s lukewarm attitude over the follow-up process and the excommunication of executives at the association’s staff raise such suspicion.
Kang Kyung-nam (41, Daesun Jujo), Moon Do-yeop (33, DB Insurance), and Lee Chang-woo (31, Danu), who are considered star players of the KPGA Tour, will participate in the Asian Tour starting next year. They won the seed for next season through the “Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage” held at Lake View Resort & Golf Club (par 71, 6,897 yards) in Hua Hin, Thailand.
Veteran Kang Kyung-nam, who has 11 wins overall in the KPGA Tour, reduced two pars by changing five birdies and three bogeys in the final round. He finished second with 19-under 336 overall. Kang, who showed off his consistent skills by ranking 13th in prize money (324.28 million won) in the KPGA tour, will tour major Asian countries starting next year. He will also participate in major KPGA tour championships, but will compete with players from Asian countries and Europe.
Moon ranked third with 18-under 337 overall at Q School, advancing to the bigger stage. Considering the single tour alone, the KPGA Tour is not bad in terms of competitiveness, but being able to compete with players from other countries is a big attraction. Since the tour is held in many Asian countries, loss of stamina and cost is inevitable, but this is something a golfer should endure. Players generally say that they gain more than being a “frog in a well” in the KPGA tour. 메이저사이트
Players from the KPGA tour challenges the Asian Tour every year. This is because the prize money is larger than that of the KPGA tour. The Maekyung Open and the Shinhan Donghae Open are co-hosted by the Asian Tour, the Korea Golf Association (KGA), and the KPGA. The large amount of prize money stimulates players’ desire to challenge themselves. As some of the European tours have been incorporated into the Asian tour, chances are high that they will advance to the PGA tour.
Players’ overseas expansion is on the rise, with Jang Yoo-bin, the winner of this year’s KPGA Genesis Grand Prize, advancing to the final series of PGA Tour Q School. Players argue that relatively little respect for players accounts for a small portion of the reason why they are looking abroad.
Meanwhile, the Asian Tour will kick off with the Philippine Open in January next year.
