2019 Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour Rookie King Lee Jae-kyung has won two championships and runner-up four times, and his performance is at the highest level in Korea.
However, he was not very confident in the short game.
He self-assessed his short game as “at the level of a 100-stroke weekend golfer.”
He confessed that his short game was at the level of ‘Ips’ since high school, when he was playing the national team.
When I grabbed the wedge, I couldn’t control it, such as going in and out of my left hand.
He said, “If Paon doesn’t work, he just thinks he’s in big trouble.” In the rough around the green, there were many cases where he grabbed a putter instead of a wedge.
It was natural for Lee Jae-kyung to stick to short game practice during field training in the United States last winter.
By holding the wedge grip the way a baseball player holds a bat, Jaekyung Lee’s left hand control was easier when shooting wedges and his short game mistakes were noticeably reduced.
In the first round of the KPGA Korean Tour KB Financial Live Championship (total prize money of 700 million won) held at the Black Stone Golf Club (par 72) in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do on the 25th, Lee Jae-kyung hit a 4 under par 68.
Lee Jae-kyung, who took the lead with Kim Min-soo and Lee Tae-hoon (Canada), is the first win of the season and has laid the foundation for a career 3-win victory two years after winning the 2021 Genesis Championship.
Most of all, he was glad to shake off his bad ties with the Black Stone Golf Club.
He shot 80 for two days in a row here in 2019, when he was a rookie, and in 2021, he shot 79 in the first round and withdrew.
Last year, he didn’t even play because he was afraid of the course.
Lee Jae-kyung, who started the game on the 10th hole that day, marched par to the 18th hole and caught his first birdie at the 1st hole (par 5).
He made up for the 3rd hole (par 3) birdie, the 5th hole (par 5) birdie with the 6th hole (par 4) birdie, and then the 8th (par 4) and 9th hole (par 4) consecutive birdies on the first day. ended in a good mood.
Lee Jae-kyung, who has been in the top 10 for three consecutive times, including 4th, 7th, and 7th places in the last four tournaments, said, “I have been so good these days that I couldn’t take advantage of the early birdie opportunity, and even when I played par for 9 holes in a row, I waited for an opportunity and persevered.” “I am very satisfied with 4 under par on a difficult course,” he said.
He cited the improvement of his short game skills, which had been his weakness, as the first finger of his recent rise.
Even now, short game practice is the top priority, he said. Even during tournaments, when he arrives at the golf course, he practices short game first rather than shooting.
Lee Jae-kyung said, “If the desired level is 100 points, about 90 points come out during practice. In practice, it is still around 70 points.”
Lee Jae-kyung, who was eliminated from the cut in three competitions at the beginning of this season, diagnosed the cause as “I was lazy and gave up easily.”
Lee Jae-kyung, who used to get up late and leave home on the excuse of being tired, now wakes up at 6:00 am and arrives at the golf course at 8:00 am to start practicing.
He added, “I got rid of all the useless things other than golf.”
Lee Jae-kyung said, “I’m not going to be proud of being in the top 10 for three weeks in a row.”
Kim Min-soo, who has yet to win, reduced 4 strokes with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 2 bogeys.
Kim Min-soo, who is called the ‘screen golf emperor’ after winning more than 10 screen golf competitions, escaped the slump by missing cuts in all four competitions in which she participated prior to this competition.
“I didn’t putt well, but today my putt went very well,” said Kim Min-soo, lowering his body, saying, “The goal is to pass the cut.”
Lee Tae-hoon, who won 3 wins on the Korean Tour last year, including the Hana Bank Invitational, added 1 eagle, 3 birdies and 1 bogey.
Seo Yo-seop, who won three of his five career victories last year alone, finished the first day in a tie for fourth place with a 3-under-par 69 strokes, followed by Ham Ham-woo Ham with a 2-under-par 70 strokes.
Jung Chan-min,먹튀검증 a long hitter who rose to the ranks of stars by winning the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, is ready to jump into the championship competition with a 1-under 71 strokes.
Defending champion Yang Ji-ho shot a 2-over par 74.
Baek Seok-hyun, who is trying to win the SK Telecom Open for two weeks in a row, failed to continue his upward trend with a 3-over-par 75.
