The Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour does not officially have major tournaments. The phrase ‘officially non-existent’ ultimately means ‘only unofficial major level competitions exist’.
Because there are no separate major tournaments, special points (grand prize or rookie of the year point categories) are not awarded just for major tournaments like the Korea Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour.
However, depending on the authority, scale, and history of the competition, points are awarded differentially by grading from Tier 1 to Tier 3.
Tier 1 Genesis Points (points for KPGA) are distributed at 130% of the existing points for competitions hosted by the Genesis Championship, KPGA Championship, Kolon Korea Open, and KPGA Korean Tour naming sponsor. The winner will receive 1,300 points instead of the existing 1,000 points.
Genesis Point Tier 2 includes competitions that have been held for more than 20 years and have a total prize money of more than 1.2 billion won. The relevant competitions include the GS Caltex Maekyung Open (42nd, 1.3 billion won), SK Telecom Open (26th, 1.3 billion won), and Shinhan Donghae Open (39th, 1.4 billion won). In this competition, rewards are calculated at 120% of the existing points. Therefore, the winner is given 1200 points.
Genesis Point Tier 3 is a competition that does not correspond to Tiers 1 and 2, and 1,000 points are distributed to the winner.
Go Gun-taek, winner of the Shinhan Donghae Open.
Looking at Go Gun-taek (4,207.15 points), who ranked first in Genesis points (target points) as of September 28, it is clearly revealed why performance in tier 1 or 2 competitions is important. Go Gun-taek won the DB Insurance Promy Open, the season opener, and the Honors K and Solarago CC Han Jang Sang Invitational in July. These two competitions were tier 3 competitions.
Go Gun-taek, who won the Shinhan Donghae Open, a second-tier competition held in September, earned 1,200 points and jumped to first place in Genesis points. He came out as first in this category by winning the opening match, and it was the moment when he returned to first place after a long time. Also, by winning this tournament, Go Gun-taek became the first player in five years to win three games in one season, following Park Sang-hyun.
A gallery gathered to watch the Shinhan Donghae Open.
The Shinhan Donghae Open is a tournament jointly hosted by the Korean Tour, Japan Professional Golf Tour (JGTO), and Asian Tour. As a perk of winning, Go Gun-taek secured a 5-year seed on the Korean Tour, as well as a 2-year seed on the JGTO and Asian Tour, and was even ready to go overseas.
Go Gun-taek said, “I think it would be a good idea to do a Japanese or Asian tour in parallel,” and added, “I was planning to enlist after this season, but I need to think more about it.”
Meanwhile, in the Genesis prize money rankings, Han Seung-soo (USA), who won the Kolon Korea Open, is firmly maintaining the top spot.
The Korea Open, where the national title is at stake, has a total prize money of 1.4 billion won, which is smaller than the Woori Finance Championship, KPGA Championship, or Genesis Championship, which have 1.5 billion won, but the winner’s prize money is 500 million won, the largest in Korea. The total winning prize money for the three competitions with 1.5 billion won at stake is 300 million won.
Han Seung-soo and his family, who won the Kolon Korea Open.
The Korea Open, which first held the tournament in 1958, introduced a two-qualifier system in 2014 and raised the total prize money to 1.2 billion won. The total prize money will be increased to 1.3 billion won in 2021 (winner prize 400 million won), and after raising it to 1.35 billion won last year (winner prize 450 million won), this year’s total prize money will be 1.4 billion won (winner prize 500 million won). increased to In three years, the winning prize alone has increased by 200 million won.
The Kolon Korea Open has various special benefits befitting its reputation as the most prestigious tournament in Korea. First of all, two tickets to the Open, a world-class major tournament, will be provided to the winning player and the second-place player. In addition, the winner is guaranteed a seed on the Korean Tour for five years, making it one of the tournaments that players most want to win.
The Korean Open, held for the 20th year at Woojung Hills Country Club (par 71), which is known for being one of the most difficult major tournaments, is a fearsome battlefield that will determine who the true champion is. The tough rough that sinks up to the ankles and the narrow fairways present the gates of hell to players. Only by conquering this difficult course will you receive both the maximum prize money and the best perks.토토사이트
Seungsoo Han kissing the Kolon Korea Open championship trophy
This year, Seungsoo Han was the only player to score under par with a final total of 6 under par 278 strokes. He did not relinquish first place throughout the four rounds and even won wire-to-wire.
Since the Kolon Korea Open, Han Seung-soo has maintained the top prize money ranking with consistent results, including tied for 4th and tied for 5th at the Gunsan CC Open and iM Bank Open, respectively.
In this way, the fastest and most stable route to the domestic tour grand prize and top prize money has been created, and players are expected to continue to do their best at the Shinhan Donghae Open and Kolon Korea Open.
What if it’s not an official major? If it were a competition worth much more than that, what would the name be? The competition itself is worthy of existence.