Chip-in birdie on No. 16 seals one-stroke victory at 9 under par
Moon Dong-hyun holed a 30-yard chip-in birdie to claim the youngest-ever title at the KPGA Championship, which carried a purse of 1.6 billion won (approximately $1,050,000).
Playing the final round Sunday at A-One Country Club's South-West Course (par 71) in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Moon carded four birdies against two bogeys for a 2-under 69. His four-round total of 9-under-par 275 edged Kim Chan-woo, who finished at 8-under 276, by one stroke, giving Moon his first victory since joining the KPGA Tour in 2025.
Born in 2006, Moon was 20 years, 2 months and 2 days old at the time of his win, breaking the tournament's previous youngest-champion record. That mark had been held by Lee Sang-hee, who won the 55th KPGA Championship in 2012 at the age of 20 years, 4 months and 13 days.
Along with the winner's check of 320 million won, Moon received a KPGA Tour card through 2031 and 1,300 Genesis points toward the season's player-of-the-year award.
Kim Jun-hyung had entered the final round as the sole leader, but the leaderboard shifted repeatedly through the back nine. With three or four holes remaining, four players — Eom Jae-ung, Jo Woo-young, Kim Chan-woo and Moon — shared the lead.
Moon broke the deadlock on the par-4 16th hole. He pushed his tee shot into a fairway bunker, and his second came up short of the green in the rough. From 30 yards out, he holed the approach shot for a crucial birdie.
Seizing sole possession of the lead, Moon parred the final two holes to seal his first tour victory.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
