Eight players, including Bae Dae-ung (29), secured spots in the main field of the 69th KPGA Championship with A-ONE CC, which carries a purse of 1.6 billion won (approximately $1,060,000) and a winner's prize of 320 million won.
In the qualifying round held Sunday at A-ONE Country Club's South and West courses (par 71, 7,205 yards) in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, 120 players competed in an 18-hole stroke play format. Bae carded six birdies and one bogey for a 5-under-par round, finishing in a tie for first with Jeong Dae-jin (29). A matching scorecard tiebreaker awarded Bae the outright top spot.
Bae served on the national reserve squad in 2016 and joined the KPGA as a professional in April of that year, earning full KPGA tour pro membership the following September. He made his KPGA Tour debut after finishing tied for 10th at the 2021 KPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament but failed to retain his tour card. He currently competes on the David Golf Tour while continuing to pursue KPGA Tour qualifying events.
Park Seung (30, Samho Savings Bank), who finished eighth, was the last player to earn a spot in the main field among the top eight qualifiers.
Meanwhile, the best result ever recorded by a player who entered the KPGA Championship through qualifying belongs to Kim Sung-hyun (28, Shinhan Financial Group). Kim squeezed through as a co-eighth qualifier — the final qualifying spot — at the 63rd KPGA Championship in 2020 and went on to win the title.
The main tournament runs June 4–7 at the same venue, with 156 players competing over 72 holes across four rounds.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
