Jang Dong-gyu, Choi Seung-bin and Jung Tae-yang share second at 5 under par
Bae Yong-jun grabbed the solo lead on the opening day of the Amazing Cree Open, a newly established event on the KPGA Tour with a purse of 700 million won ($523,000).
Bae carded seven birdies and one bogey for a 6-under-par 64 on Thursday at Flamingo Country Club (par 70) in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, putting him one stroke ahead of a three-way tie for second. Jang Dong-gyu, Choi Seung-bin and Jung Tae-yang each shot 5-under-par 65s.
Starting on the 10th hole, Bae made his first birdie on the par-4 11th, then strung together consecutive birdies on the par-3 13th and par-4 14th. He added another birdie on the par-4 16th to finish the front nine 4 under. On the back nine, he birdied the par-5 second and par-4 third holes consecutively and picked up another stroke on the par-4 sixth. His only blemish came on the par-3 eighth, where a three-putt led to his sole bogey of the day.
Bae claimed his first KPGA Tour victory in 2022 and earned his second career title last year at the KPGA Classic, which uses a modified Stableford format. This season he has recorded two top-10 finishes but has yet to win.
After the round, Bae said his putting had not been sharp recently but that adjustments he had worked on during the official CPX round paid off on the course. He added that he was focused on playing with more consistency rather than going all-out on attack, and set a goal of finishing inside the top 10 in the Genesis Points standings for the remainder of the season.
The winner's share of the purse is 140 million won, and the champion will also receive 1,000 Genesis Points.
Genesis Points leader Jang Yu-bin (4,412.70 points) and second-place Shin Sang-hun (3,885.44 points) both shot 2-under-par 68s to share 22nd place. Third-ranked Song Min-hyeok (3,728.49 points) opened with a 4-under-par 66 and sits in a tie for fifth alongside Kim Yong-tae, Lim Chae-wook and Kim Hong-taek.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
