Kim Tae-hoon atop in grand prize points in KPGA

Kim Tae-hoon of the KPGA Korean Tour turned the 2020 season into one of his own. He concurrently secured the Genesis Grand Prize and the top place in prize money rankings for the first time in 14 years since turning pro.

Kim played the final fourth round of the LG Signature Players’ Championship of the KPGA Korean Tour, which took place at Seowon Valley Country Club (par 72) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Sunday. The 35-year-old finished even in the round with two birdies and two bogeys, and had 13-under 275 overall to tie for ninth.

With the outcome from the latest championship, he is atop in Genesis points and prize money rankings. He beat over competitors including Kim Han-byeol and Lee Jae-kyung in last-minute race. It is the first time in four years that a golfer has ranked atop in both prize money and grand prize score points in the KPGA Korean Tour since Choi Jin-ho received the honor in 2016. Ranking No. 1 in the grand prize points, Kim is set to receive 50 million won in bonus money, a Genesis luxury car, a five-year seed for the KPGA Korean Tour, and a seed for the 2021-2022 European Tour.

Kim won the monthly Genesis Championship title in this season for the first time in two years. Since then, he directly targeted the Genesis Grand Prize. Unlikely his rivals Kim Han-byeol and Lee Jae-kyung who participated in the CJ Cup of the PGA Tour that took place in the U.S., Kim focused on maintaining his physical and mental condition to win while staying put in Korea. Notably, Kim was tied for 32nd to acquire 110 points, and 3.26 million (about 2,900 U.S. dollars) won in prize money at the Biz Play ETnews Open last month, emerging as the leader in the two categories.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com