Moon Dong-hyun becomes youngest champion in KPGA Championship history

Rising star Moon Dong-hyun claimed his first professional victory at the 69th KPGA Championship, which carried a purse of 1.6 billion won (approximately $1,050,000).

Playing in the rain Sunday at A-One Country Club's South-West Course (par 71, 7,109 yards) in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Moon carded a 2-under-par 69 — four birdies against two bogeys — to finish at 9-under-par 275, edging runner-up Kim Chan-woo by one stroke and claiming the winner's check of 320 million won.

Moon became the 26th player to win his first career title at the KPGA Championship. Aged 20 years and two months on Sunday, he broke the tournament's previous youngest-champion record of 22 years and 19 days, set by Choi Seung-bin at the 2023 edition.

Moon's front nine was sluggish. He missed a short birdie putt on the fourth hole and dropped a shot on the par-4 seventh, threatening to fall out of contention. His ball-striking sharpened markedly on the back nine, however.

A birdie on the 10th shifted the momentum, and back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th vaulted him into a share of the lead.

The decisive moment came at the par-4 16th. Moon's approach missed the green, leaving him 31 yards from the pin. Facing a scramble for par, he holed his third-shot chip for a chip-in birdie that put him one clear of the field. He parred out from there to seal the title.

Moon represented South Korea's national team in 2023 and had long been regarded as an exceptional talent. He won the 2022 Taiwan Amateur Championship and, as an amateur in 2024, finished joint runner-up at the Woori Financial Championship after a battle with Im Sung-jae, signaling his readiness for the professional stage.

Moon had already hinted at a breakthrough, finishing tied for fourth at last month's Woori Financial Championship before taking runner-up honors at the North Gyeongsang Province Open the following week. He did not let the opportunity slip when it arrived just three weeks later, letting out a roar after sinking the champion's putt.

Kim Chan-woo, who pushed Moon until the very end, fell one stroke short of what would have been his third career victory. Eom Jae-ung and Lee Jae-jin shared third place at 7-under-par 277.

Cho Woo-young's challenge unraveled on the final hole when his tee shot on the par-4 18th found the right-side hazard, leading to a triple bogey. He finished at 5-under-par 279, sharing seventh place with Lee Tae-hee, Song Min-hyuk and Choi Jin-ho.