Fires 8-under 64 to reach 17 under par at halfway mark
Two runner-up finishes this year; chasing third career win in three years
Jung Chan-min held sole possession of the lead for the second consecutive day at the KPGA Tour's The Charity Classic, moving within striking distance of his first win of the season. The tournament carries a purse of 1 billion won ($742,000).
Jung carded an 8-under-par 64 on Friday at the Valley-Seowon course (par 72) of Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, posting nine birdies against one bogey. His halfway total of 17-under-par 127 put him three strokes clear of second-placed Kim Yeon-seop, who sits at 14-under 130.
Jung claimed his two career victories in 2023 — at the GS Caltex MK Open and the Golfzon-Toray Open — but has not won since. This year he finished runner-up twice, at the KPGA Founders Cup in May and the Golfzon Open in September, and is now chasing his third career title roughly three years on from his last.
Jung picked up his first birdie of the day on the par-4 sixth hole, then added further gains on the par-5 seventh and par-4 ninth. On the back nine he birdied the 10th and 11th consecutively before dropping a bogey on the par-3 13th, but he bounced back with three straight birdies on holes 14 through 16 and closed with another birdie on 18. He reached a maximum driving distance of 321 yards and hit 94.4 percent of greens in regulation.
"My results over the past two years were not good, and I still felt some anxiety this year, but consistently competing near the top of the leaderboard has helped me regain my confidence," Jung said. "Right now I'm just trusting my feel and swinging."
Jung credited his recent steady play to his partnership with caddie Kim Beom-sik. "I definitely want to win on the KPGA Tour this year, and I'd also like to perform well at the PGA Tour Q-School in December so I can compete in the United States next year," he said.
Kim Yeon-seop moved into sole second place after shooting 6 under on Friday. Bae Yong-jun, who carded nine birdies with no bogeys, sits in a tie for third alongside Shin Sang-hun at 13-under 131.
Jang Yu-bin, the leader in both the season points standings and prize money, barely made the cut, finishing the day at 4-under 140 in a tie for 56th.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
